Shaheen Shah, Munawar Alam Ansari, Mahboob Ahmed Wagan, Mohd Baqir Soomro.
Regression of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH); comparison between ACE inhibitors & diuretics.
Professional Med J Jan ;12(1):10-3.

Left ventricular hypertrophy is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Therefore optimal anti-hypertensive therapy should provide the regression of LVH. There are certain group of drugs which cause regression of LVH, such as angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and diuretics. Objectives: To assess the magnitude regression induced by captopril and indapamide when patients are treated for equal duration of time. Patients & Methods: We gave captopril (25-150 mg) to eleven patients with left ventricular hypertrophy for six months and another eight patients, indapamide 2.5 mg (Diuretic) was given for six months. Results: There was an overall reduction of left ventricular mass index (LVMI) by 12.5% in patients taking captopril, while left ventricular mass index (LVMI) decreased by 7.5% in patients taking indapamide. The LVMI decreased from 157.2±12.6 to 137.5±8.7g/m2 (Mean±SEM) and from 156.1±9.5 to 141.3± 8.5g/m2 (Mean±SEM) in patients taking captopril and indapamide respectively. The mean blOod pressure in both the groups decreased, systolic blood pressure decreased from 172 to 146 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure from 101 to 82 mm Hg. Conclusions: ACE inhibitors induce more regression then diuretics when patients are treated for equal duration of time.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com