AGTR1 and arteriosclerosis: More than 40% of patients with refractory hypertension have AT1-R agonistic autoantibodies (AT1-AAs) that can partially mimic the effect of angiotensin II.7 A previous study by Li et al8 found that the presence of AT1-AAs is significantly associated with the progression of arteriosclerosis in a population with normal blood pressure.