ABSTRACT
Primary aldosteronism (PA) describes a number of conditions, all characterized by excess production of aldosterone. Dr. Jerome Conn described the phenomenon of hypertension and hypokalemia in the 1950s, improving after resection of an adrenocortical adenoma [1]. He suggested that this clinical picture was due to overproduction of aldosterone by the adrenal adenoma. Today, this constellation of findings bears Dr. Conn’s name and is known as Conn’s syndrome. While PA is often due to an adrenal adenoma, other causes have since been identified; aldosterone-producing adrenal hyperplasia, in particular, has been recognized as a genetic disorder and is now divided into three types: familial hyperaldosteronism (FH) types I–III. Genetic causes have also been discovered in the past decade for both adenoma and hyperplasia.
