Library · Disease
Hyperaldosteronism
Make it clearer
Hyperaldosteronism means making too much aldosterone. Aldosterone is a mineralocorticoid hormone, meaning a hormone that governs the body's salts, and its job is to hold on to sodium, which is salt, and water. Holding on to them raises blood pressure.
It is made in the zona glomerulosa, the outermost layer of the cortex of the adrenal gland, the gland that sits on top of each kidney. From there it travels to the kidney and acts on two final stretches of the filter, the distal tubules and the collecting ducts: there it orders sodium and water to be reabsorbed, that is, picked back up before they are lost in the urine, and in exchange it orders potassium to be sent out. The kidney takes back more salt than it should, and water follows it.
Two conditions cause too much aldosterone. One is an aldosterone-producing adenoma, a benign tumor of the gland that makes the hormone on its own. The other is bilateral adrenal hyperplasia of that zona glomerulosa, meaning the layer overgrows in both glands.
In brief
Hyperaldosteronism is excessive production of aldosterone, the mineralocorticoid hormone that retains sodium and water and thereby raises blood pressure.
The kidney takes back more salt than it should, and water follows it.
Aldosterone is secreted in the zona glomerulosa, the outermost layer of the adrenal cortex, and acts on the distal tubules and collecting ducts, reabsorbing sodium and excreting potassium.
Its two main causes are an aldosterone-producing adenoma and bilateral hyperplasia of the zona glomerulosa.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingHyperaldosteronism, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated