Effects of Benazepril on Plasma Homocysteine Level and Blood Vessel Endothelial Function in Patients with Hypertension

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of benazepril on plasma homocysteine (Hcy) level and blood vessel endothelial function in patients with essential hypertension. METHODS: A total of 77 cases were randomly divided into treatment group and control group: the control group was treated with the conventional antihypertensives, while the treatment group was treated additionally with benazepril besides antihypertensives,plasma Hcy level, brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) function, nitrogen monoxidum (NO) level, von willber factor (vWF) level were assayed and compared before and after treatment. RESULTS: As compared with pre-treatment or the control group after treatment, the treatment group after treatment showed lower levels of Hcy and vWF, higher level of NO and significantly improved FMD(P0.001 or P0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Benazepril, an antihypertensive, could be used to lower plasma Hcy level and improve endothelial function in patients with essential hypertension.