Angiotensin II in General Anesthesia

A Dose Finding Trial for Angiotensin II in Hypertensive Adults on Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors and Angiotensin Receptor Blockers With Anesthesia-Mediated Hypotension

Hypotension in adult patients undergoing general anesthesia is common. This can lead to hypoperfusion of vital organs, organ damage, and states of increased metabolic duress. This may be worse in patients with underlying essential hypertension and worse in patients taking Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors (ACE) and Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARBs). Intravenous (IV) administration of Ang II may be an effective treatment of hypotension in this patient population.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Hypertension
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Angiotensin II

Detailed Description

Hypotension in adult patients undergoing general anesthesia is common. Many of the body's normal mechanisms to maintain adequate blood pressure in the non-anesthetized state are significantly altered by anesthetic agents, which may lead to hypotension. This can lead to hypoperfusion of vital organs, organ damage, and states of increased metabolic duress. In response to this it has become standard of care to attempt to maintain blood pressure levels within 20% of baseline in most patients under anesthesia. Maintaining the baseline blood pressure is important as patients may have pathology such as coronary artery disease, carotid stenosis, and renal artery stenosis, and hypotension may compromise the perfusion of these organs. Vasodilation also plays a key role in hypotension due to general anesthesia. Therefore, the intravenous (IV) administration of Ang II may be an effective treatment of hypotension in this patient population.The objective of this study is to determine the infusion rate of Ang II that is necessary to return systolic blood pressure (SBP) to within 5% of baseline or greater in patients with essential hypertension taking ACE inhibitors, ARBs, or different classes of antihypertensive agents and further to determine the plasma levels of different RAAS components

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 32
• Phase: Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • North Carolina
    • Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States, 27157
      • Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 40 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of hypertension and treatment with at least one medication including an ACE inhibitor, ARB, and other agents for greater than 2 months
• Patients undergoing general anesthesia

Exclusion Criteria:

• BMI > 40
• History of deep venous thrombosis / thromboembolic disease
• History of stroke,
• Baseline SBP of ≥ 160 mmHg,
• History of myocardial infarction or cardiac stents
• Difficult airway
• Asthma
• Congestive heart failure
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• Pregnant patients

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Participants on ACE inhibitors; Participants taking ACE inhibitors (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors)will be placed into this group. Intervention: Drug: Angiotensin II.	Drug: Angiotensin II; Participants in the ACE inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs), and Other Classes of Antihypertensive Agents who's systolic blood pressure (SBP) is less than 80% of the baseline reading is detected, will have Ang II initiated at 2 ng/kg/min through a peripheral IV. The infusion will be increased at the discretion of the clinical team based on the response of the patient until a SBP within 5% of the baseline SBP.; Other Names: Giapreza; Ang II
Experimental: Participants on ARBs; Participants taking ARBs (angiotensin-receptor blockers) will be placed into this group. Intervention: Drug: Angiotensin II.	Drug: Angiotensin II; Participants in the ACE inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs), and Other Classes of Antihypertensive Agents who's systolic blood pressure (SBP) is less than 80% of the baseline reading is detected, will have Ang II initiated at 2 ng/kg/min through a peripheral IV. The infusion will be increased at the discretion of the clinical team based on the response of the patient until a SBP within 5% of the baseline SBP.; Other Names: Giapreza; Ang II
Experimental: Other Classes of Antihypertensive Agents; Participants taking any other class of Antihypertensive Agents will be placed into this group. Intervention: Drug: Angiotensin II.	Drug: Angiotensin II; Participants in the ACE inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs), and Other Classes of Antihypertensive Agents who's systolic blood pressure (SBP) is less than 80% of the baseline reading is detected, will have Ang II initiated at 2 ng/kg/min through a peripheral IV. The infusion will be increased at the discretion of the clinical team based on the response of the patient until a SBP within 5% of the baseline SBP.; Other Names: Giapreza; Ang II

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Median Dose Required to Increase the Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP)	The median dose required to increase the SBP in these 3 cohorts with essential hypertension (ACE inhibitor, ARB, or those on another class of hypertensive agents) to within 5% of baseline or higher will be calculated.	up to 1 hour

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Median Serum Level of Bradykinin 1-8	Median serum level of Bradykinin 1-8	up to 1 hour
Median Serum Level of Bradykinin 1-7	Median serum level of Bradykinin 1-7	Up to 1 hour
Median Serum Level of Bradykinin 1-5	Median serum level of Bradykinin 1-5	Up to 1 hour
Median Serum Level of Aldosterone	Median serum level of Aldosterone	Up to 1 hour
Median Serum Level of Angiotensin I	Median serum level of Angiotensin I	Up to 1 hour
Median Serum Level of Angiotensin II	Median serum level of Angiotensin II	up to 1 hour
Median Serum Level of Angiotensin IV	Median serum level of Angiotensin IV	Up to 1 hour
Median Serum Level of Angiotensin 1-7	Median serum level of Angiotensin 1-7	Up to 1 hour
Median Serum Level of Angiotensin 1-5	Median serum level of Angiotensin 1-5	Up to 1 hour
Median Serum Level of Angiotensin 1-9	Median serum level of Angiotensin 1-9	Up to 1 hour
Median Serum Level of Angiotensin 2-10	Median serum level of Angiotensin 2-10	Up to 1 hour
Median Serum Level of Angiotensin 2-7	Median serum level of Angiotensin 2-7	Up to 1 hour
Median Serum Level of Angiotensin 3-7	Median serum level of Angiotensin 3-7	Up to 1 hour
Median Serum Level of Angiotensin 1-12	Median serum level of Angiotensin 1-12	Up to 1 hour

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Wake Forest University Health Sciences
• Collaborators: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); National Institute on Aging (NIA)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Rohesh Fernando, MD, Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Khanna A, English SW, Wang XS, Ham K, Tumlin J, Szerlip H, Busse LW, Altaweel L, Albertson TE, Mackey C, McCurdy MT, Boldt DW, Chock S, Young PJ, Krell K, Wunderink RG, Ostermann M, Murugan R, Gong MN, Panwar R, Hastbacka J, Favory R, Venkatesh B, Thompson BT, Bellomo R, Jensen J, Kroll S, Chawla LS, Tidmarsh GF, Deane AM; ATHOS-3 Investigators. Angiotensin II for the Treatment of Vasodilatory Shock. N Engl J Med. 2017 Aug 3;377(5):419-430. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1704154. Epub 2017 May 21.
• Comfere T, Sprung J, Kumar MM, Draper M, Wilson DP, Williams BA, Danielson DR, Liedl L, Warner DO. Angiotensin system inhibitors in a general surgical population. Anesth Analg. 2005 Mar;100(3):636-644. doi: 10.1213/01.ANE.0000146521.68059.A1.
• Singh A, Antognini JF. Perioperative hypotension and myocardial ischemia: diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Ann Card Anaesth. 2011 May-Aug;14(2):127-32. doi: 10.4103/0971-9784.81569.
• Ferreira AJ, Murca TM, Fraga-Silva RA, Castro CH, Raizada MK, Santos RA. New cardiovascular and pulmonary therapeutic strategies based on the Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2/angiotensin-(1-7)/mas receptor axis. Int J Hypertens. 2012;2012:147825. doi: 10.1155/2012/147825. Epub 2012 Jan 26.
• Chawla LS, Busse L, Brasha-Mitchell E, Davison D, Honiq J, Alotaibi Z, Seneff MG. Intravenous angiotensin II for the treatment of high-output shock (ATHOS trial): a pilot study. Crit Care. 2014 Oct 6;18(5):534. doi: 10.1186/s13054-014-0534-9.
• Tallarida RJ, Stone DJ Jr, Raffa RB. Efficient designs for studying synergistic drug combinations. Life Sci. 1997;61(26):PL 417-25. doi: 10.1016/s0024-3205(97)01030-8.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 3, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 21, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): March 21, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 5, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 5, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): November 7, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 24, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 6, 2025
• Last Verified: April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Angiotensin II; Angiotensin Receptor Blockers; Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; Anesthesia-Mediated Hypotension
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Hypertension; Hypotension; Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action; Protease Inhibitors; Enzyme Inhibitors; Serine Proteinase Inhibitors; Vasoconstrictor Agents; Giapreza; Angiotensin II; Angiotensinogen
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB00054661; HL-051952 (Other Grant/Funding Number: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute); AG070371 (Other Grant/Funding Number: National Institute on Aging)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No