Role of renin-angiotensin system in blood pressure regulation in pregnancy.
We gave captopril (25 mg) to nine pregnant and eight non-pregnant women. From baseline to 60 min post-captopril, mean arterial pressure decreased significantly more in pregnant than in non-pregnant women (mean 15.0 [SE 2.5] vs 5.2 [1.2] mm Hg; difference 9.8 [95% CI 3.9-15.9] mm Hg, p = 0.0036), whereas plasma renin activity increased significantly more in the pregnant group (18.0 [5.5] vs 4.5 [1.9] ng mL-1 h-1; difference 13.5 [0.71-26.5], p = 0.043). These findings support the hypothesis that stimulation of the renin-angiotensin system in pregnancy maintains blood pressure.
August
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Department of Medicine, New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical Center, New York 10021, USA.
Mueller
F B
FB
Sealey
J E
JE
Edersheim
T G
TG
D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002216:Captopril / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology*; D012083:Renin / Q000097:blood; D012084:Renin-Angiotensin System / Q000502:physiology*
D002216:Captopril; D012083:Renin