The CREST syndrome--successful reduction of pulmonary hypertension by captopril.

A patient with severe pulmonary hypertension due to pulmonary arteriolar obliteration complicating a long standing CREST variant of systemic sclerosis showed improvement in cardiac output and exercise tolerance during treatment with captopril, which was discontinued because of persistent systemic hypotension. It is suggested that captopril would have a useful and possible prophylactic effect early in pulmonary hypertension in systemic sclerosis.