Changes in venous tonus in rats with heart failure during acute and chronic perindopril administration

: The effect of chronic administration of perindopril (given per os daily for 21 days) and a single i.v. injection of perindoprilate (0.5 mg/kg) on the mean circulatory filling pressure (MCFP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and heart rate (HR) was evaluated in conscious rats with heart failure caused by embolization of the coronary vessels with microspheres 21 days prior to the experiment. In the group of rats with cardiac failure perindoprilate reduced MAP by 10% and MCFP by 15%, but did not change AP and MCFP in animals which had been subjected to a sham-operation. Perindopryl reduced AP by 41% and MCFP by 20% in rats with heart failure, and by 37% and 13%, respectively, in rats which had undergone a sham-operation. It is concluded that the venous vessels in rats with heart failure possess increased sensitivity to perindopril.