[The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system changes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]

In 75 COPD patients with (group I) or without (group II) cor Pulmonale, we measured plasma renin activity (PRA), angiotensin I and II (ATI and ATII), and aldosterone (Ald) by RIA. We found that the levels of PRA, ATI, ATII, Ald in group I are all higher than those in 25 healthy subjects and in group II (P less than 0.05, P less than 0.001), The PRA, ATI, ATII, Ald also increased in patients with respiratory failure, especially accompanied by hypercapnia, and in patients with hyponatrium. In addition, the strong correlation was found between PaO2, PaCO2 and RAAS activation. These findings suggest that the activation of RAAS increased significantly in COPD patients with cor pulmonale or with respiratory failure, and the changes may involve in the pathophysiologic process in COPD patients.