Short- and long-term hemodynamic effects of captopril in patients with pulmonary hypertension and selected connective tissue disease.

To assess the pulmonary and systemic hemodynamic effects of oral captopril in patients with connective tissue disease and pulmonary hypertension, we performed right heart catheterization in eight patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis, the CREST syndrome, or mixed connective tissue diseases prior to and immediately following administration of captopril (dose range 12.5 to 50.0 mg, short-term study). Four of these patients underwent repeat right heart catheterization after three to six months of oral captopril therapy (long-term study). In the short-term study, oral captopril produced a significant decrease in mean pulmonary vascular resistance from 6.2 ± 3.6 to 4.6 ± 3.8 units (p (Chest 1992; 192:1407-12)