Key result
Intravenous hydralazine significantly increased plasma renin activity in most normotensive and hypertensive patients, but not in primary aldosteronism, suggesting utility in differential diagnosis.
Why the study?
Does intravenous hydralazine help differentiate types of hypertension based on plasma renin activity response?
Observational (n=38)
Does intravenous hydralazine help differentiate types of hypertension based on plasma renin activity response?
Intravenous hydralazine stimulates plasma renin activity differentially across hypertension etiologies, suggesting potential utility as a diagnostic test.
May aid differential diagnosis of primary aldosteronism via renin response; hypothesis-generating and requires prospective validation.
On a normal diet, hydralazine hydrochloride (20 mg) given intravenously caused significant increase in plasma renin activity in five of seven normotensive subjects and ten of 20 patients with essential hypertension. Seven patients with renovascular hypertension responded to hydralazine with much greater increase; the overlap in predrug renin activity between patients with essential and renovascular hypertension diminished after hydralazine. Three-day sodium restriction enhanced the effect of hydralazine in a majority of patients with essential hypertension; the postdrug renin activity exceeded 8 mμg/ml in 11 of the 12 patients. In all four patients with primary aldosteronism renin activity remained undetectably low even after hydralazine combined with sodium restriction. The findings suggest that the hydralazine test might be useful in the differential diagnosis of hypertension. However, the drug should be used carefully because of untoward side effects.
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Hideo UEDA (1968) conducted an observational in Hypertension (n=38). Hydralazine hydrochloride vs. Baseline (predrug) was evaluated on Plasma renin activity. Intravenous hydralazine significantly increased plasma renin activity in most normotensive and hypertensive patients, but not in primary aldosteronism, suggesting utility in differential diagnosis.
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