Introduction:

primary hyperaldosteronism is considered the most frequent secondary endocrine form of arterial hypertension; it is characterized by an inadequate elevation of aldosterone due to an autonomous and independent production of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.

Objective:

to describe the role of primary hyperaldosteronism in the development of arterial hypertension.

Methods:

a search for information was carried out in the PubMed/MedLine, Scopus and SciELO databases. A search strategy was structured using the terms hypertension and hyperaldosteronism.

Results:

primary hyperaldosteronism is an entity considered as the first cause of secondary arterial hypertension; however, it is underdiagnosed due to the lack of knowledge, causing a large number of patients with hypertension to present resistance to the usual treatment, producing an increase in cardiovascular, metabolic, renal and cerebrovascular risk in the patient.

Conclusions:

screening of the hypertensive patient is of great importance for the timely detection of primary hyperaldosteronism and its laterization, since it allows guiding an adequate treatment, either pharmacological or surgical, to guarantee the reduction or control of blood pressure, cardiovascular and renal risk and the appearance of diabetes mellitus in the patient in order to improve his quality of life.

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