Association between a deletion polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting-enzyme gene and left ventricular hypertrophy

To the Editor: The report by Schunkert et al. (June 9 issue)¹ was intriguing, but it did not elaborate on why the effect of the DD genotype of the angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) gene on the development of left ventricular hypertrophy was stronger in normotensive subjects than in hypertensive patients. On this subject, we previously reported² that the association between plasma ACE activity and the ACE genotypes is observed in normotensive subjects, but not in hypertensive patients, and that plasma ACE activity in hypertensive patients with the II, ID, and DD genotypes is similar to that in normotensive subjects with the DD…