Direct Renin Test

When to go for this test?

Renin is an enzyme that helps to control your blood pressure. When it becomes necessary to measure the amount of renin in your blood, then the medical experts may suggest you to go for the test because insufficiency of renin can be the reason for hypertension.

Sample requirements

A certain amount of blood will be fetched from your vein, on which the test will be performed.

Test preparation

It becomes a bit challenging sometimes to get the appropriate test results as a certain number of guidelines must be followed for that. You can be asked to decrease the amount of salt consumption at least three days before appearing for the test. Apart from that, you must stop taking blood pressure medicines and birth control pills before you appear for the test. Also, this is mandatory to inform the pathologists if you are already on medication or you are going through any kind of illness.

Result interpretation

If the Renin level is higher than normal, then it signifies the presence of Addison disease, Cirrhosis or dehydration. On the other hand, if the Renin level is lower than usual then it indicates the presence of primary aldosteronism or kidney disease.