Progressive improvement in the structure of resistance arteries of hypertensive patients after 2 years of treatment with an angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitor. Comparison with effects of a beta-blocker.
To investigate the effects of antihypertensive drugs on resistance artery structure, 17 essential hypertensive patients were randomly assigned to be treated with an angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitor, cilazapril, or a beta-blocker, atenolol, for 2 years. Blood pressure was well controlled throughout the 2 years. Before starting treatment, at the end of the first year and at the end of the second year, patients were subjected to gluteal subcutaneous fat biopsies, from which resistance-size arteries were dissected to be studied. The media width to lumen diameter ratio of arteries from patients in the cilazapril group was 7.5 +/- 0.3% before starting treatment, and decreased significantly (P < .05) to 6.3 +/- 0.2% at the end of the first year, and to 5.8 +/- 0.2% at the end of the second year, at which time it was not different from that of arteries from normotensive subjects (5.2 +/- 0.2%). In patients treated with atenolol, resistance arteries exhibited a media-to-lumen ratio of 8.0 +/- 0.6% before treatment, 8.1 +/- 0.5% after 1 year of treatment, and 7.9 +/- 0.3% at the end of the second year of treatment, all significantly higher (P < .01) than that of arteries from normotensive subjects. Thus, treatment for 2 years with the angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitor cilazapril resulted in progressive normalization of the structure (media-to-lumen ratio) of gluteal subcutaneous fat resistance arteries of essential hypertensive patients, whereas there was no change in patients treated with the beta-blocker atenolol.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Schiffrin
E L
EL
Clinical Research Institute of Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Deng
L Y
LY
Larochelle
P
P
D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001158:Arteries / Q000473:pathology*; D001262:Atenolol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D017315:Cilazapril / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D014655:Vascular Resistance / Q000187:drug effects
D000319:Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D017315:Cilazapril; D001262:Atenolol