Medicina clinica
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Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most common cause of secondary arterial hypertension. Moreover, it is associated with a higher cardio-metabolic risk than the observed in patients with essential arterial hypertension (EHT). Therefore, a high index of clinical suspicion for PA is mandatory. ⋯ Intravenous saline infusion test or captopril test are the commonly used confirmatory tests. The last step in the diagnosis of PA is the localization study, being the computerized axial tomography (CT) of the adrenal glands the initial test of choice, and adrenal venous sampling (AVS), the definitive localization test in most cases. This review summarizes the available data about the diagnosis of PA, from screening to confirmatory study and localization.