Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor renography in the diagnosis of renovascular hypertension. Studies before and after angioplasty.

Renography with [99mTc] diethylenetriaminepenta-acetate (DTPA) was performed in 26 patients with renal artery stenosis (RAS), unilateral in 15 and bilateral in 11, and in 16 patients with essential hypertension with a normal renal angiogram. Nine of the patients with unilateral RAS were restudied after a successful percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA), i.e. complete removal of the stenosis and a normalization of the blood pressure without antihypertensive treatment. Single-kidney [99mTc]-DTPA clearance and parenchymal mean transit time (MTT) were determined at each examination. All patients were studied on two different days using the same procedure except that captopril 25 mg was given orally before renography at the second examination. In unilateral RAS captopril reduced single-kidney [99mTc]-DTPA clearance significantly on the affected side (-42.7%, median) but not on the unaffected side (-3.2%). In bilateral RAS single-kidney [99mTc]-DTPA clearance was reduced to the greatest extent on the most affected side (-43.0%) compared with the least affected side (-17.2%). In essential hypertension no significant changes were recorded on any side (-1.5% for both). After PTRA, single-kidney [99mTc]-DTPA clearance was not significantly changed by captopril either on the previously affected side (4.3%) or on the unaffected side. MTT was significantly prolonged after captopril on the affected side in unilateral RAS and on the most affected side in bilateral RAS, whereas no significant changes were found on the unaffected side in unilateral RAS, on the least affected side in bilateral RAS, or on any side in essential hypertension.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)