Polymorphism of the (CA)n repetitive sequence in the angiotensinogen gene was studied in a random sample of Russian males from the Moscow population and in a sample of patients with coronary heart disease. Thirteen allelic variants of this microsatellite with 10 to 22 (CA) dinucleotides were revealed. In the patients, the spectrum of the allelic variants of the angiotensinogen gene tended to shift toward smaller numbers of repeats (n < or = 16). This shift was not associated with changes in the lipid composition of blood.