[Endocrine effects of hypotension induced by diltiazem in rabbits]

Endocrine effects of hypotension induced by diltiazem, a calcium antagonist, were studied in 16 male rabbits under the inhalation of 0.7% halothane in oxygen. They were randomly allocated to one of two groups. Group C (n = 8) received no vasodilator therapy and served as control and group D (n = 8) received infusion of diltiazem. Mean arterial pressure was decreased and was maintained at 60 mmHg for 60 minutes in group D. No change was noted in plasma catecholamines measured in group C throughout the experiment but plasma renin activity decreased progressively. During and after induced hypotension in group D plasma epinephrine showed a dramatic rise compared with the control value. The maximum increase occurred 30 minutes after induction of hypotension but this change was not statistically significant. Plasma norepinephrine in group D was significantly higher than the control value. Compared with the control value (0.19 +/- 0.04 ng.ml-1), plasma norepinephrine was activated 30 and 60 minutes after induction of hypotension (0.71 +/- 0.16 ng.ml-1, P less than 0.05, 0.82 +/- 0.20 ng.ml-1, P less than 0.05, respectively). Plasma renin activity in group D was significantly higher than the control value. The highest level of plasma renin activity was three times the control value 30 minutes after induction of hypotension. In conclusion, our data show that induced hypotension by diltiazem activates the renin-angiotensin-sympathetic nervous system.