Influence of losartan on plasma level of brain natriuretic peptide in patients with hypertension complicated left ventricular hypertrophy

Objective:To study effects of losartan on level of brain natriuretic peptide(BNP) in patients with essential hypertension(EH) complicated left ventricular hypertrophy(LVH) and its significance.Methods:The 100 EH patients with normal left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF) were selected,and there were 58 cases complicated with LVH and 42 pure EH cases.Another 50 healthy subjects were regard as healthy control group.Plasma levels of BNP were compared among the three groups.EH+LVH group were given losartan for six months,the changes of BNP level and left ventricular mass index(LVMI) were compared before and after treatment.Results: ① Plasma level of BNP of EH + LVH group was significantly higher than those of pure EH group and healthy control group [(62.21±9.70) pg/ml vs.(39.35±10.57) pg/ml vs.(13.89±5.34) pg/ml,P0.01];② Concentration of BNP was positively correlated with LVMI(r=0.44,P0.05);③ Compared with before treatment,there were significant decrease in plasma level of BNP [(62.21±9.70) pg/ml vs.(38.78±7.94) pg/ml] and LVMI [(128.71±12.64) g/m2 vs.(107.36±11.32) g/m2] in EH + LVH group after six-month treatment with losartan,P0.01 both.Conclusion:Losartan can significantly decrease level of brain natriuretic peptide and reverse left ventricular hypertrophy in patients with hypertension complicated left ventricular hypertrophy.