Effect of atenolol, a new cardioselective beta-blocker, on plasma renin activity in treatment of hypertension.
Atenolol, a cardioselective beta-blocking drug, was prescribed in doses of 100 mg b.i.d. in 23 patients with essential hypertension. At the end of the first month of treatment with Atenolol we found a significant fall in blood pressure, heart rate and plasma renin activity (P.R.A.). Besides, there existed a relationship between changes in diastolic blood pressure, in mean arterial pressure and initial plasma renin activity, and a relationship between changes in blood pressure and changes in P.R.A. It results from this finding that pretreatment P.R.A. is of predictive value of short-term efficacy of the beta-blocker. This correlation was borderline in 21 patients after a mean of 7 month treatment and could no be found for 12 cases after a mean of 10 month-treatment while the fall in P.R.A. was still significant. It therefore appears that--with reserve of the representativeness of the sample--quantitative relations between the antihypertensive effect of Atenonol and P.R.A. are no longer significant on long-term treatment.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001262:Atenolol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011412:Propanolamines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012083:Renin / Q000097:blood*
D011412:Propanolamines; D001262:Atenolol; D012083:Renin