OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of 6 weeks' pre-operative treatment with the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, quinapril, on left ventricular function when measured 3 months after coronary artery bypass graft surgery and to examine the safety of such treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients (96) [86 males, 10 females; mean age 61 years] with chronic stable angina, on the waiting li...

OBJECTIVE The role of the brain as a target for angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors in the treatment of heart failure and hypertension is unclear. To test the hypothesis that ACE inhibitors may modulate other central neuropeptide systems such as the central vasopressin system, we studied the effects of chronic treatment with the ACE inhibitor, quinapril, on ACE activity and on centra...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Human studies have shown that methionine-induced hyperhomocysteinemia impairs brachial artery endothelial function via decreasing nitric oxide activity. However, the effect of homocysteine on cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), which has been reported to be nitric oxide related in experimental and animal studies, remains unclear in humans. Inhibition of angiotensin-converti...

Immunopharmacological studies of drugs used in cardiovascular diseases provide new data concerning their modulating effect on the levels of proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules. Therefore, we have made an attempt to find out whether enalapril, quinapril and losartan (drugs used in the treatment of arterial hypertension) are able to modulate lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induc...

Transient and sustained K(+) currents were measured in isolated rat ventricular myocytes obtained from control, steptozotocin-induced (Type 1) diabetic, and hypothyroid rats. Both currents, attenuated by the endocrine abnormalities, were significantly augmented by in vitro incubation (>6 h) with the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor quinapril or the angiotensin II (ANG II) receptor blocke...

Apoptosis plays a role in the regulation of heart mass and architecture, and might contribute to the cardiac remodelling seen in renovascular hypertension. It is not known whether the beneficial effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition or calcium channel blockade on cardiac remodelling are linked to the modulation of apoptosis. To test this hypothesis, we established four group...

Endothelial vasomotor function is impaired in a variety of disorders representing both early and late stages of atherosclerosis. There is experimental evidence for enhanced vascular angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity in these disorders. We explored whether enhanced vascular ACE activity accounts for endothelial dysfunction in experimental hypertension. Hypertension was induced in rats...

Angiotensin II and nitric oxide (NO) may play a role in hypertensive cardiovascular remodeling. We evaluated the effects of long-term treatment with quinapril, an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, on expression of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), ACE, and angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor in the left ventricle and evaluated these relations to myocardial remodeling in deoxycortico...

OBJECTIVES To examine circadian changes in the sympathovagal balance, the activity of the renin-angiotensin system and hemostatic variables in patients with stable coronary artery disease, and the effects of beta-adrenoceptor blockade and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition. BACKGROUND Sympathovagal balance and key components of the fibrinolytic system show circadian variability. The eff...

BACKGROUND Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a prognostic factor in arterial hypertension. Modification of PWV, apart from blood pressure (BP) lowering seems to be important in the evaluation of antihypertensive drugs. One of the underlying causes arterial stiffening is arterial wall fibrosis. Plasma collagen I metabolites: carboxy (PICP) and amino (PINP) propeptides are considered a...