Do blockers of the renin-angiotensin system prevent vascular and renal inflammation in patients with hypertension?
Blockade of the renin-angiotensin system provides organ protection by reducing angiotensin II-induced inflammation in hypertensive patients.
The pharmacological blockade of angiotensin II actions, by angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor antagonists, results in beneficial organ protective effects, in addition to the effects of these agents on blood pressure control, that can be explained by the blockade of the angiotensin II-induced pro-inflammatory response. These data provide a rationale for the use of blockers of the renin-angiotensin system to prevent vascular and renal inflammation in patients with hypertension.
Ruiz‐Ortega et al. (Wed,) studied this question.