In inbred dogs with neonataiiy induced coarctation hypertension, prior serial studies during the first year after aortic banding showed extracellular volume excess with normal plasma renin activity (PRA). The present studies test the hypothesis that slowly evolving aortic constriction in this model will yield intrarenal angiotensin II excess, peripherally undetectable, with continuous slightly positive sodium balance, and thus that chronic blockade of angiotensin II formation will prevent generation of hypertension. Accordingly, we used MK421 (enalapril, 3 mg/kg twice daily), a long-acting angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, or placebo, administered orally, from the time of banding through 4 months after banding in sex-matched littermates randomly assigned to one of four groups: coarcted/MK421; control/MK421; coarcted/placebo; control/placebo. Results indicate that MK421 caused identical lowering of absolute forelimb systolic blood pressure in coarcted and control pups but failed to modify evolution of a significant (/?<0.005) systolic blood pressure difference hi coarcted versus control dogs. Thus, neither temporal course nor final magnitude of relative hypertension was altered by MK421. Efficacy of MK421 was documented by 83% inhibition of the pressor response to angiotensin I at nadir of drug effect and by sustained increases in angiotensin I and renin concentration throughout the period of study. Coarcted and control pups responded similarly to MK421 for all measured variables. Glomerular nitration rate and extracellular volume (measured by [ M C]inulin disappearance) did not differ among groups. Thus, chronic administration of MK421 failed to prevent hypertension and did not impair maintenance of normal renal function in the evolving phase of neonataiiy induced coarctation hypertension. We conclude that, although angiotensin II may participate in the untreated model, it does not appear essential to generation of hypertension. We propose that the renal pressure-natriuresis mechanism regulates distal pressure, that stenosis-related resistance independently determines the proximal-distal difference, and that chronic converting enzyme inhibition lowers the set point of the former without influencing stenosis evolution, thus secondarily lowering proximal pressure by an equal degree. {Hypertension 1989; 13:91-101) A ortic coarctation has been studied as an exper-L \ imental model of renovascular hyperten-A. \~ sion 1 and classified with other models wherein all functional renal mass lies distal to a vascular stenosis (e.g., renal artery stenosis present bilaterally or affecting a single kidney).2 Acute aortic constriction is followed by transient activation of the renin-angiotensin system as blood pressure rises, 3 -5 whereas the phase of established hypertension exhibits normal plasma renin activity (PRA) (see References 1, 6, and 7) coupled with expanded extracellular fluid volume. Received May 11, 1988; accepted September 26, 1988. In neonataiiy induced coarctation hypertension (NICH) in the inbred Lab...