Renin inhibitors, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor antagonists: relationships between blood pressure responses and effects on the renin-angiotensin system.

What It Covers

The paper reports a study of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors in the context of low blood pressure and orthostatic hypotension, published as a review.

To compare the effects of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, renin inhibitors and angiotensin II (Ang II) antagonists.

Who the Included Studies Covered

Recently, in measuring 24-h blood pressure responses to ACE inhibitor treatment, the researchers have obtained good correlations between the time-course of the blood pressure response and the change in circulating Ang II.

How the Review Was Done

Survey of data from recent studies.

However, this discrepancy may be largely an artefact related to difficulties in measuring low Ang II levels in the presence of high angiotensin I (Ang I) levels.

Even with modern sensitive and specific Ang II assays it can be difficult to monitor in vivo ACE inhibition (Ang II:I ratio in plasma) because of ex vivo Ang II formation.

This must be taken into account when using the ratio of enzymatically active renin to immunoreactive renin as an index of in vivo renin inhibition.

However, the time-course of the two effects may be different; with the renin inhibitors, the maximum effect on pressure was delayed compared with the effect on Ang II.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists, Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors, Blood Pressure, Hypertension, Renin-Angiotensin System and Renin Inhibitors.

What This Means in Plain Language

This is a review of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors in people with low blood pressure and orthostatic hypotension.

Results are reported in around 2 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 1992 (Journal of hypertension. Supplement : official journal of the International Society of Hypertension), a journal based in England.

More context: Low blood pressure and orthostatic hypotension research.