Propranolol alters renin release during nitroprusside-induced hypotension and prevents hypertension on discontinuation of nitroprusside.

Ten patients who received hypotensive anesthesia for surgical correction of a cerebral aneurysm were pretreated for 1 day with propranolol. In the awake state, before start of anesthesia, mean arterial pressure was 91 +/- 3 torr and plasma renin activity 3.0 +/- 0.1 ng/ml/hr. Thirty minutes after the induction of anesthesia mean arterial pressure decreased to 79 +/- 2 torr and plasma renin activity increased to 3.5 +/- 0.1 ng/ml/hr. There was no further significant change in either measurement with surgical stimulation. During sodium nitroprusside-induced hypotension (the dose used was 0.35 +/- 0.02 mg/kg) mean arterial pressure was reduced to 53 +/- 2 torr, and plasma renin activity increased to 8.8 +/- 0.9 ng/ml/hr. Heart rate did not change. Discontinuation of sodium nitroprusside resulted in a gradual reduction of plasma renin activity to the awake level and concurrent gradual increase in mean arterial pressure to its basal anesthetic value. When compared with previous work, these results indicate that propranolol attenuates nitroprusside-induced renin release, reduces the dosage of nitroprusside required to induce hypotension, suppresses reflex tachycardia, and prevents overshoot hypertension on discontinuation of nitroprusside.