Effect of age on active and inactive plasma renin in normal subjects and in patients with essential hypertension.
The effect of age on the levels of active and trypsin-activatable inactive plasma renin was examined in 41 normal subjects and 54 patients with essential hypertension, during recumbency and after stimulation with furosemide and ambulation. Active renin levels in supine subjects and patients decreased with age. Inactive renin levels did not change with age in normal subjects, whereas in hypertensive patients they decreased with age. Following stimulation with furosemide and ambulation, the levels of active renin increased but the responsiveness to stimulus decreased with age in both groups. In contrast, inactive renin levels slightly increased after furosemide administration and ambulation, resulting in increased proportion of active to total renin. These data show that an acute stimulation with furosemide and ambulation affects mainly the active form of plasma renin, and the effect of age on inactive plasma renin in normal subjects may be different from that in patients with essential hypertension.