Acute changes in the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, catecholamines and prostaglandins during captopril in man.

The acute hypotensive effect of 25 mg captopril was investigated in 26 hypertensive patients (11 essential and 15 with renal arterial disease). Intra-arterial blood pressure was recorded continuously and arterial blood was sampled for renin, angiotensin I and II, aldosterone, kininase II, catecholamines and prostaglandins. Captopril provoked increases in plasma renin activity, active and total plasma renin concentration and angiotensin I; decreases in plasma kininase II activity, angiotensin II, aldosterone, prostaglandins E2 and F2 alpha and no changes in plasma (nor)adrenaline, dopamine and inactive renin concentration.