THE EFFECTS OF CAPTOPRIL ON PULMONARY AND SYS TEMIC ARTERIAL PRESSURES IN HIGHALTITUDE PULMONARY HYPERTENSION

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the effect of captopril on both systemic (P.a) and pulmonary arterial pressures (PPA) in patients with high-altitude pulmonary hypertension (HAPH). Seventeen patients (mean age 44±6.8 years) with HAPH and mild to moderate systemic arterial hypertension were included in the study. All patients underwent right heart catheterization with measurements of systolic PPA (PPA,syst) , mean PPA, (P¯PA) and diastolic PPA (PPA,diast)• After 4 weeks placebo phase patients with a PPA, sst> 25 mmHg, P¯PA > 15 mm Hg and systemic diastolic blood pressure (Pa,diast) >100 mmHg were given captopril (50-75 mg at 8 am) for a period of 12 weeks. The statistical evaluation of the results was made using Student's t-test. It was found that captopril significantly decreases PPA and Pa.