[Renin activity in plasma and kidneys upon sudden death of hypertension patients]

Activity of blood plasma renin and renal cortical tissue was studied in conditions of sudden cardiac death in patients with and without arterial hypertension and also in blood donors. The renin activity in the blood of those who died suddenly was 2.5 times higher than in the donors. Comparing renin activity in sudden cardiac death showed that in the hypertensive deceased, this indicator in both plasma and kidneys was lower than in normotensive patients. The renin activity in plasma and the kidneys of those who died suddenly was higher in patients with symptomatic hypertension as compared to those suffering from essential hypertension. Under conditions of sudden heart death, the elevated renin activity in hypertensive patients occurred twice less frequently as against normotensives. The study also disclosed age-specific changes of the renin activity in blood plasma and renal cortical tissue; with age it tended to decline both in plasma and kidneys. Similar results were also obtained for plasma renin activity in the donors.