Effect of prolonged low-dose infusions of ile5-angiotensin ii on blood pressure, aldosterone and electrolyte excretion in sodium replete man

Two healthy young males on a constant normal sodium diet (135 mM/day) were infused for 132 h with 3 ng/kg/min of angiotensin II. Plasma angiotensin II levels were therby raised to the range of moderate sodium depletion. Plasma aldosterone and the urinary excretion rate of aldosterone-18-glucuronide were markedly increased during the whole infusion period and returned to control levels after the infusion was stopped. A slight tendency of aldosterone secretion to decrease towards the end of infusion was probably due to sodium retention (appr. 200 mM and 350 mM respectively) and to a fall in plasma potassium by approximately 0.5 mM/1. Plasma aldosterone during infusion, maintained circadian variations similar to those of cortisol. Plasma cortisol patterns were unaffected by angiotensin II. Blood pressure increased gradually during angiotensin II infusion, reflecting changes in sodium balance. The results, differing from those of studies in dog and sheep, support the assumption that angiotensin II is an important regulator of aldosterone secretion in man rather than a merely permissive factor.