Renovascular hypertension: balancing the controversies in diagnosis and treatment

There is considerable controversy about how to test for renovascular hypertension and, with the development of percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA) and stenting, how to treat it. Which noninvasive diagnostic test should be considered, and when is renal angiography called for? Which patients will benefit from conservative medical therapy, and when is PTRA appropriate?