|
|
||||||||
1 Division of Cardiovascular
Disease,
Chronic mitral regurgitation (MR) in dogs
results in pulmonary congestion and increased cardiac
angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity and angiotensin (ANG) II
levels. ACE could contribute to altered pulmonary vasomotion in heart
failure, and ACE inhibitor (ACEI) therapy may normalize pulmonary
vasomotion. We evaluated pulmonary artery (PA) responses to ANG II and
bradykinin (BK) in control dogs, in dogs with 4 mo of MR, in MR dogs
treated with the ACEI ramipril (MR + R), and in control dogs treated
with ramipril (C + R). Mean PA systolic pressure increased in MR dogs
(21 ± 4 mmHg) but was normal in MR + R dogs (13 ± 1 mmHg).
Constriction of PA rings to ANG II was depressed in MR dogs. ACEI
treatment (MR + R) restored ANG II responsiveness, but peak ANG II
response (3.6 ± 0.2 g) in MR + R dogs remained lower than in C + R
dogs (4.7 ± 0.2 g). Endothelium-dependent relaxation to BK was
decreased (
87 ± 4% C,
65 ± 4% MR;
P < 0.05). Ramipril (MR + R) restored relaxation to BK. This demonstrates that pulmonary
congestion results in impaired pulmonary vasomotion to ANG II and BK,
which ACEIs could normalize, supporting the use of ACEIs in clinical management of chronic congestive heart failure.
ramipril; bradykinin; acetylcholine; pulmonary artery; mitral regurgitation; heart failure; angiotensin-converting enzyme
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| Visit Other APS Journals Online |