Haemodynamic effects of Sar1-Ala8-angiotensin II in patients with renovascular hypertension.

Sar1-Ala8-angiotensin II was infused intravenously (10 mug/kg/min) in 14 patients with renovascular hypertension, including 11 with renal artery stenosis. Brachial artery pressure and heart rate remained unchanged in six patients who were on a daily sodium intake of 130 mEq. In 12 tests performed after sodium depletion, the decrease in mean arterial pressure ranged from 13 to 76 mm Hg and showed a significant correlation with the plasma renin concentration prevailing immediately before the infusion of the drug (r = 0.81; p less than 0.001). The hypotensive response was due to a drop in total peripheral resistance. Heart rate and cardiac output showed slight increases 10 min after the start of saralasin infusion.