Abstract
Plasma renin is a surrogate marker of sodium retention in hypertension, and its levels are suppressed in conditions of heightened aldosterone production. We performed a random-effects meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials focusing on the impact of mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA) and aldosterone synthase inhibitors (ASi) on blood pressure according to baseline renin levels. We included four randomized clinical trials, and we found that the response to MRA or ASi was independent of baseline plasma renin levels.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Data availability
The data underlying this article will be shared on reasonable request to the corresponding author.
References
Williams B, MacDonald TM, Morant S, Webb DJ, Sever P, McInnes G, et al. Spironolactone versus placebo, bisoprolol, and doxazosin to determine the optimal treatment for drug-resistant hypertension (PATHWAY-2): a randomised, double-blind, crossover trial. Lancet. 2015;386:2059–68.
Mancia G, Kreutz R, Brunstrom M, Burnier M, Grassi G, Januszewicz A, et al. 2023 ESH Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension the task force for the management of arterial hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension Endorsed by the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) and the European Renal Association (ERA). J Hypertens. 2023;41:1874–2071.
Ferreira JP, Collier T, Clark AL, Mamas MA, Rocca HB, Heymans S, et al. Spironolactone effect on the blood pressure of patients at risk of developing heart failure: an analysis from the HOMAGE trial. Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Pharmacother. 2022;8:149–56.
Brown JM, Wijkman MO, Claggett BL, Shah AM, Ballantyne CM, Coresh J, et al. Cardiac structure and function across the spectrum of aldosteronism: the atherosclerosis risk in communities study. Hypertension. 2022;79:1984–93.
Williams B, MacDonald TM, Morant SV, Webb DJ, Sever P, McInnes GT, et al. Endocrine and haemodynamic changes in resistant hypertension, and blood pressure responses to spironolactone or amiloride: the PATHWAY-2 mechanisms substudies. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2018;6:464–75.
Liberati A, Altman DG, Tetzlaff J, Mulrow C, Gotzsche PC, Ioannidis JPA, et al. The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate healthcare interventions: explanation and elaboration. BMJ. 2009;339:b2700–b.
Ito S, Itoh H, Rakugi H, Okuda Y, Yamakawa S. Efficacy and safety of esaxerenone (CS-3150) for the treatment of essential hypertension: a phase 2 randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. J Hum Hypertens. 2019;33:542–51.
Laffin LJ, Rodman D, Luther JM, Vaidya A, Weir MR, Rajicic N, et al. Aldosterone synthase inhibition with lorundrostat for uncontrolled hypertension: the target-HTN randomized clinical trial. Jama. 2023;330:1140–50.
Vaidya A, Hundemer GL, Nanba K, Parksook WW, Brown JM. Primary Aldosteronism: State-of-the-Art Review. Am J Hypertens. 2022;35:967–88.
Sterne JAC, Savović J, Page MJ, Elbers RG, Blencowe NS, Boutron I, et al. RoB 2: a revised tool for assessing risk of bias in randomised trials. BMJ. 2019;366:l4898.
Funder JW, Carey RM, Mantero F, Murad MH, Reincke M, Shibata H, et al. The management of primary aldosteronism: case detection, diagnosis, and treatment: an endocrine society clinical practice guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2016;101:1889–916.
Flack JM, Oparil S, Pratt JH, Roniker B, Garthwaite S, Kleiman JH, et al. Efficacy and tolerability of eplerenone and losartan in hypertensive black and white patients. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2003;41:1148–55.
Funder JW, Carey RM. Primary aldosteronism: where are we now? where to from here? Hypertension. 2022;79:726–35.
Monticone S, D’Ascenzo F, Moretti C, Williams TA, Veglio F, Gaita F, et al. Cardiovascular events and target organ damage in primary aldosteronism compared with essential hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2018;6:41–50.
Adlin EV, Braitman LE, Vasan RS. Bimodal aldosterone distribution in low-renin hypertension. Am J Hypertens. 2013;26:1076–85.
Brown MJ. Renin: friend or foe? Heart. 2007;93:1026–33.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
ARL and JPF conceived and designed the study. ALM, JSN and JPF provided methodological and statistical advice. ARL and AAG drafted the first version of the manuscript. All authors provided clinical feedback in interpreting the results, contributed critically to subsequent revisions, and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary information
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Leite, A.R., Angélico-Gonçalves, A., Leite-Moreira, A. et al. Blood pressure response to mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists or aldosterone synthase inhibitors according to baseline renin levels. J Hum Hypertens 39, 462–464 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41371-025-01021-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Version of record:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41371-025-01021-9