Aldosterone: A Mediator of Myocardial Necrosis and Renal Arteriopathy*

To determine the role of aldosterone in mediating cardiovascular damage, we performed ablation/replacement experiments with aldosterone in a rat model of cardiac injury. Administration of angiotensin II and Nomega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; nitric oxide synthesis inhibitor) to male rats drinking 1% saline caused hypertension, severe biventricular myocardial necrosis, proteinuria, and fibrinoid necrosis of renal and cardiac vessels. Removal of aldosterone by adrenalectomy or through administration of the selective aldosterone antagonist eplerenone markedly reduced the cardiac and renal damage without significantly altering blood pressure. Aldosterone infusion in adrenalectomized, glucocorticoid-replaced L-NAME/angiotensin II-treated animals restored damage. Thus, we identified aldosterone as a critical mediator of L-NAME/angiotensin II induced vascular damage through mechanisms apparently independent of its effects on systolic blood pressure.