Effect of Angiotensin II Receptor Blockade on Fibrinolysis During Acute Hyperinsulinemia in Patients With Essential Hypertension

Abstract We performed the present study to investigate indirectly the in vivo effects of angiotensin II on fibrinolysis and catecholamines by treatment with losartan, a selective angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist. The effects were evaluated in basal conditions as well as in two different models of acute hyperinsulinemia physiologically induced by oral glucose ingestion and by a euglycemic glucose clamp technique. Twenty subjects with moderate hypertension were included in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study of 4-week treatment periods. Plasma levels of catecholamines, tissue plasminogen activator activity and antigen, and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 activity and antigen were unchanged in the basal state after 4 weeks of treatment. During both models of hyperinsulinemia, plasminogen activator inhibitor activity and antigen decreased significantly (both P P