Dette anses for at være en sekundær effekt af stoffets hypotensive virkning, som medfører nedsat nyreperfusion.
At very high doses (≥ 500 mg/ kg/ day) degenerative changes in the kidney (such as interstitial nephritis, tubular distension, basophilic tubules, increased plasma concentrations of urea and creatinine) were induced by irbesartan in the rat and the macaque and are considered secondary to the hypotensive effects of the medicinal product which led to decreased renal perfusion.