Effect of atenolol, a new cardioselective beta-blocker, on plasma renin activity in treatment of hypertension.

Atenolol, a cardioselective beta-blocking drug, was prescribed in doses of 100 mg b.i.d. in 23 patients with essential hypertension. At the end of the first month of treatment with Atenolol we found a significant fall in blood pressure, heart rate and plasma renin activity (P.R.A.). Besides, there existed a relationship between changes in diastolic blood pressure, in mean arterial pressure and initial plasma renin activity, and a relationship between changes in blood pressure and changes in P.R.A. It results from this finding that pretreatment P.R.A. is of predictive value of short-term efficacy of the beta-blocker. This correlation was borderline in 21 patients after a mean of 7 month treatment and could no be found for 12 cases after a mean of 10 month-treatment while the fall in P.R.A. was still significant. It therefore appears that--with reserve of the representativeness of the sample--quantitative relations between the antihypertensive effect of Atenonol and P.R.A. are no longer significant on long-term treatment.

[Propranolol and arterial hypertension: study with frequent daily checking of blood pressure and serum levels after 1 week of treatment]. / Propranolol et hypertension arterielle: etude pluriquotidienne de la pression arterielle, de la frequence et des taux seriques apres une semaine de traitement

In order to establish correlations between serum levels of Propranolol, blood pressure in hypertensive patients and cardiac rate, these parameters have been recorded at three different times in a day and after a week. This study points out that therapeutic response is variable. However the patients may be classified into 4 groups. This classification and the value of serum levels of propranolol are discussed.