ANGIOTENSIN-CONVERTING ENZYME-INHIBITION DURING THROMBOLYTIC THERAPY IN ACUTE MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION - THE CAPTOPRIL-AND-THROMBOLYSIS-STUDY (CATS)

The adjunctive use of ACE-inhibitors with thrombolytic therapy early during acute myocardial infarction offers theoretic advantages. In the acute phase, captopril may scavenge free radicals, blunt the catecholamine response, elicit coronary vasodilation and increase prostacyclin and bradykinin levels. In the chronic phase remodelling may be attenuated. At present, a large number of controlled clinical trials mainly focussing on the effects of ACE-inhibition in the chronic phase is under way. Only few studies concentrate on the effect of acute intervention with ACE-inhibitors in ischemia-reperfusion i.e. thrombolysis in myocardial infarction. In the Captopril And Thrombolysis pilot study (CAT pilot-study) 3 mg and 6.25 mg captopril was tolerated well as adjunctive therapy to intravenous streptokinase. Decrease in mean arterial blood pressure (36 +/- 11%) after 6.25 mg was comparable to the control group (30 +/- 7%). Furthermore noradrenaline levels decreased dose dependently to 47 +/- 6 and 38 +/- 7% from baseline respectively. These results prompted a large nationwide acute intervention trial with captopril in 300 patients receiving thrombolytic therapy: the Captopril And Thrombolysis Study (CATS). The primary hypothesis of CATS supposes a very early effect of converting enzyme inhibition on evolving myocardial damage due to ischemia and the consequences of early reperfusion. This will be evaluated by serial echocardiography, Holter monitoring and neurohumoral measurements immediately upon thrombolysis and during the first year after myocardial infarction. Blinded data show a favourable blood pressure response, with systolic hypotension below 100 mm Hg occurring only in 0.2% of patients