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Renovascular hypertension is the most common potentially curable form of arterial hypertension. It occurs as a result of insufficient perfusion of renal tissue, secondary to haemodynamically significant stenosis of the renal artery or its branches. Early diagnosis is of primary importance in patients with renovascular hypertension, as timely treatment by percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty or surgical revascularization may afford definitive cure or at least improvement of renovascular hypertension, and thus prevent further deterioration of renal function. A number of tests for detection of renovascular hypertension are available, yet their accuracy rate is fairly low. An ideal screening test for renovascular hypertension should not only identify the presence and location of renal artery stenosis, but should also determine its haemodynamical significance. Finally, the paper presents the pathogenesis of renovascular hypertension, and describes the available screening tests and the algorithm used in patients with suspected renovascular hypertension.