A group of 22 men with essential hypertension stage I and II according to WHO, mean age 29.1 +/- 1.4 years, was divided at random into two sub-groups. Eleven patients were treated for four weeks with enalapril (E), 10 mg/day, 11 patients were given placebo (P), also for a period of four weeks. The patients were subjected to echocardiographic examination before and after four-week therapy with enalapril or placebo. In patients treated with E a significant reduction of the left ventricular wall and the interventricular septum was observed. There was also a highly significant decline of the weight of the left ventricle and the index of left ventricular mass. Enalapril led to a decline of the specific binding capacity and affinity of beta 2-adrenergic lymphocyte receptors. In the group given P no differences were found during the examination repeated after four weeks. By means of multidimensional linear regression estimates a close relationship was revealed between the difference in the weight of the left ventricle, the difference of the index of left ventricular mass and the difference of specific binding capacity and affinity of beta 2-adrenergic lymphocyte receptors.

Keywords: Adult; Blood Pressure /drug effects/; Echocardiography; Enalapril /therapeutic use/; Heart /physiopathology/; Humans; Hypertension /drug therapy/; Lymphocytes /metabolism/; Male; Myocardial Contraction /drug effects/; Receptors, Adrenergic, beta /metabolism/