Key result
In patients with essential hypertension, forearm blood flow response to acetylcholine significantly improved from 302% to 643% after 2 months of enalapril treatment, and was also enhanced by intra-arterial vitamin C.
Why the study?
Does vitamin C and enalapril improve endothelial function in patients with essential hypertension?
Does vitamin C and enalapril improve endothelial function in patients with essential hypertension?
Absolute Event Rate: 643% vs 302%
Both intra-arterial vitamin C and 2-month treatment with enalapril significantly improve endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation in patients with essential hypertension.
Supports endothelial benefits of enalapril in hypertension; vitamin C effects remain hypothesis-generating without randomized confirmation.
Background and ObjectivesThe endothelium plays an important role in maintaining vascular tone and function.This essential hypertension may be associated with alterations in endothelial function.The effects of antihypertensive agents on endothelial function have not been fully evaluated in human hypertension and data on the forearm circulation of humans is controversial.The aim of this study was 1) to evaluate endothelial function in hypertensive patients 2) to investigate whether vitamin C administration has a benefit on endothelial function and 3) to determine whether treatment with ACE inhibitor improve improves endothelial dysfunction in hypertensive patients.Materials and MethodsThe endothelial function was estimated using venous occlusion plethysmography (VOP) in 8 hypertensive patients and 8 healthy volunteers.The patients in the hypertension group were treated with enalapril, then reexamined.The change of forearm blood flow (FBF) was measured under conditions of acetylcholine infusion through the brachial artery as well as with intraarterial vitamin C. The measurement of forearm volume change was repeated 7 times for each stage.ResultsThe forearm blood flow response to acetylcholine was significantly enhanced with inra-arterial infusion of vitamin C in the hypertensive group before antihypertensive treatment (30258%44643%).Co-infusion of L-NMMA, an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, the blunted forearm blood flow response to acetylcholine (Vit C ()44643%Vit CL-NMMA22923%).After Following antihypertensive treatment with enalapril for 2 months in the hypertensive group, endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation (vasodilatory response to acetylcholine) was significantly improved in the treated group as compared to measurements taken before enalapril treatment (30258%64378%).ConclusionsAlthough the mechanisms leading to depressed endothelial function in essential hypertension remains to be elucidated, our study shows
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On et al. (2001) studied Essential hypertension (n=16). Enalapril and Vitamin C vs. Baseline (pre-treatment) was evaluated on Forearm blood flow response to acetylcholine. In patients with essential hypertension, forearm blood flow response to acetylcholine significantly improved from 302% to 643% after 2 months of enalapril treatment, and was also enhanced by intra-arterial vitamin C.
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