High-altitude pulmonary hypertension: effects of captopril on pulmonary and systemic arterial pressures.

The purpose of investigation was the assessment of the effect of captopril on both systemic (Pa) and pulmonary arterial pressures (PPA) in patients with high-altitude pulmonary hypertension (HAPH). Seventeen patients (mean age 44 +/- 6.8 years) with HAPH and mild-to-moderate systemic arterial hypertension were included in the study. All the patients underwent right heart catheterization with measurements of systolic PPA (PPA,syst), mean PPA (PPA) and diastolic PPA (PPA,diast). After a 4 week placebo phase, patients with PPA,syst > 25 mm Hg, PPA > 15 mm Hg and systemic diastolic blood pressure (Pa,diast) > 100 mm Hg received captopril (50-75 mg at 08.00) for a period of 12 weeks. The statistical evaluation of the results were made using the Student's t-test. It was found that captopril significantly decreases PPA and Pa.