BLOOD-PRESSURE EFFECTS OF ACUTE INTRAVENOUS RENIN OR ORAL ANGIOTENSIN-CONVERTING ENZYME-INHIBITION IN ESSENTIAL-HYPERTENSION

Objective: To assess the participation of the renin-angiotensin system in the blood pressure regulation of essential hypertensive patients through acute specific renin inhibition. Design and methods: Fifty-three consecutive untreated hypertensive patients (mean +/- SD age 55 +/- 10 years, 42 male) were investigated on their usual sodium diet in a 3-h protocol. The first 11 patients did not receive any drug, the following 20 patients ingested a single oral dose of captopril (1 mg/kg) and the last 22 patients received a renin inhibitor infusion (remikiren; 1 mg/kg over 60 min).