[The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in chronic heart failure]

Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) in patients with rheumatic valve defects clearly tends to activation which in its turn aggravate chronic heart failure (CHF). Plasma renin activity in CHF depends on the cause of the latter, humoral changes in rheumatic heart disease being the most considerable. At the same time activated RAAS was characteristic of patients with rhythm disorders. All this evidence an important role of morphological changes and affected intracardiac haemodynamics in development of humoral vicious circle.