Food for thought.
ACE inhibitors inhibit angiotensin converting enzyme blocking the conversion of ANG I to ANG II thus blocking the pressor effects of ANG II and release of aldosterone.
In addition, there are direct effects. It appears that ANG II is required for skeletal muscle hypertrophy in response to overload (i.e., lifting weights). See below abstract. Look up the paper for more specifics and mechanisms if you want.
My suggestion is leave the ACE inhibitors for the overweight, hypertensive folks. Don't f**k with it, you're asking for trouble.
W6
ANG II is required for optimal overload-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy
Scott E. Gordon1,2, Bradley S. Davis1,2, Christian J. Carlson1,2, and Frank W. Booth1,2
1 Department of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology, University of Texas - Houston Health Science Center, Houston, Texas 77030; and 2 Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211
ANG II mediates the hypertrophic response of overloaded cardiac muscle, likely via the ANG II type 1 (AT1) receptor. To examine the potential role of ANG II in overload-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy, plantaris and/or soleus muscle overload was produced in female Sprague-Dawley rats (225-250 g) by the bilateral surgical ablation of either the synergistic gastrocnemius muscle (experiment 1) or both the gastrocnemius and plantaris muscles (experiment 2). In experiment 1 (n = 10/ group), inhibiting endogenous ANG II production by oral administration of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor during a 28-day overloading protocol attenuated plantaris and soleus muscle hypertrophy by 57 and 96%, respectively (as measured by total muscle protein content). ACE inhibition had no effect on nonoverloaded (sham-operated) muscles. With the use of new animals (experiment 2; n = 8/group), locally perfusing overloaded soleus muscles with exogenous ANG II (via osmotic pump) rescued the lost hypertrophic response in ACE-inhibited animals by 71%. Furthermore, orally administering an AT1 receptor antagonist instead of an ACE inhibitor produced a 48% attenuation of overload-induced hypertrophy that could not be rescued by ANG II perfusion. Thus ANG II may be necessary for optimal overload-induced skeletal muscle hypertrophy, acting at least in part via an AT1 receptor-dependent pathway.