| A randomized, doubleblind and placebo-controlled pilot study was done on the use of converting enzyme inhibitor CAPTOPRIL in 98 patients in the early stage of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with the purpose of testing the feasibility and justifiability of a large clinical trial on such therapy. The results of the study were as follows. ? The randomization method enhanced in this study was quite satisfactory. The interruption of the treatment protocol for more than 24 hours and the patient drop-out rates were only 5.1 percent each, and no side effects of captopril were observed, indicating that such a study can be carried out on large scale. â‘¡ Captopril slightly lowered blood pressure (average 10.2/4.5 mmHg) with minimal change of heart rate, but it did not increase the incidence of sustained hypotension. â‘¢ Captopril further elevated the plasma renin activity and decreased the angiotensin II levels of the AMI patients, and such changes paralleled with the reduction of blood pressure. â‘£ Early captopril treatment tended to reduce the incidence of cardiac free wall rupture, and the severity of congestive heart failure and cardiogenic shock, therefore... |
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