AANA Journal course. 5: Update for nurse anesthetists--essential hypertension, anesthesia, and the kidney.

Intraoperative systemic and renal hemodynamics are unpredictable in patients with essential hypertension due to their pharmacologic management, as well as the underlying disease process itself. The purpose of this review is to explore possible mechanisms mediating essential hypertension and describe the ramifications of various therapeutic interventions. Understanding the integrated relationship between blood pressure and the kidney will optimize intraoperative management of patients with essential hypertension.