Renin angiotensin aldosterone system blockade in practice: A Clinical Perspective

Although it has been over a century since RAAS was discovered by Robert Tigerstedt in 1897 (1), it took up to 1981 for the first ACE inhibitor (ACEI), Captopril, to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for human use in the United States. Since then numerous ACEI’s have come into the market (2). The group of physicians from Dubai Hospital have recently reviewed in this Journal the role of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibition in the renal continuum (3) and in the current issue, they elaborated further on RAAS in the cardiovascular continuum by examining the trial evidence and clinical practice (4). The authors have comprehensively described the benefit of different angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), and direct renin inhibitors in cardiovascular as well as renal protection (3,4)