The long-term sequelae on kidney function and blood pressure of renal shock wave treatment were studied in normotensive Wistar rats, contralaterally nephrectomized Wistar rats and borderline hypertensive F1-hybrids bred from stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats and Wistar-Kyoto rats. Renal shock wave treatment raised arterial blood pressure in borderline hypertensive, but not in normotensive, rats. A concomitant impairment of ipsilateral renal function or perfusion was not seen despite macroscopic and microscopic evidence of a loss of functioning parenchyma. We conclude that extracorporeal shock wave treatment, by way of its detrimental effects on the kidney, has the potential to provoke arterial hypertension in rats, provided that a genetic predisposition exists.