Peripheral and central vascular compliances in conscious normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats

Changes of left atrial (LAP) and right atrial pressure (RAP) upon 10% and 20% blood volume expansion were studied in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKR) with intact nervous cardiovascular control. In a separate series the changes of central (CBV) and peripheral (PBV) blood volumes upon similar increases of total blood volume (TBV) were measured as well, throughout using male, adult SHR and WKR in both series. During volume expansion both LAP and RAP increased significantly more in SHR than in WKR, as did CBV, while PBV increased significantly less in SHR than in WKR. Total ‘effective’ vascular compliance, defined as ΔTBV/ΔRAP, was significantly lower in SHR. From the two series of measurements central (CBV/LAP) and peripheral (PBV/RAP) vascular compliances could be separately deduced. Central vascular compliance was nearly 50% lower in SHR than in WKR. However, ‘unstressed’ volume of the peripheral compartment appeared to be rather normal in SHR compared to WKR. It is therefore suggested that the decreased total vascular compliance seen in essential hypertension and in SHR is mainly due to a decreased distensibility of the systemic capacitance vessels.     

Structural adaptation of the rat left ventricle in response to changes in pressure and volume loads

Female Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were used to explore the structural changes of cardiac dimensions in connection with a sustained hyperkinetic circulation, as induced by pregnancy or thyroxine administration. Cardiac design was assessed by recordings of the diastolic left ventricular pressure-volume relationships in isolated arrested hearts. Left ventricular weight: body weight and end-diastolic volume (EDV) for given end-diastolic pressures (EDP), were both increased about 50% in control SHR, with a marginal reduction of the wall:lumen ratio (w:ri) compared with control WKY. During the hyperkinetic circulatory states of pregnancy and hyperthyroidism, EDV was in WKY increased about 30% and 50%, respectively, with concomitant w:ri reductions. In SHR pregnancy did not significantly alter left ventricular dimensions, whereas EDV was increased by about 20% in hyperthyroid SHR. Thus, the rat left ventricle can, within 3 weeks, markedly alter not only the wall mass but also, and independently, the luminal design in response to different haemodynamic interventions. Early established SHR hypertension is characterized mainly by eccentric left ventricular hypertrophy, despite the elevated arterial pressure. Volume overloads in WKY due to pregnancy or hyperthyroidism can induce marked structural widening of the left ventricle. In SHR these structural luminal changes were only minor, perhaps because considerable eccentric hypertrophy is already present. Such a structural cardiac enlargement may allow delivery of an increased stroke volume for a given myocardial fibre shortening.     

Renal nerve activity and exaggerated natriuresis in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats

Exaggerated natriuresis upon volume loading occurs in both human and animal hypertension and is mainly due to suppressed tubular reabsorption. To explore whether altered renal sympathetic activity contributes to this response, conscious male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were exposed to isotonic saline loading in comparison with normotensive male Wistar Kyoto rats (WKR). After a 60 min control hydropenic period, during which mean arterial pressure, heart rate, renal sympathetic nerve activity and urinary sodium excretion were followed, a 60 min period of intravenous volume expansion with isotonic saline (0.2 ml/minx 100 g b. w.) was started followed by a 60 min hydropenic recovery period. Already during the control period sodium excretion was significantly higher in SHR. During the volume load and subsequent recovery period a clearly exaggerated natriuresis occurred in SHR compared with WKR. Further, volume loading reduced renal sympathetic nerve activity in all animals, but significantly more in SHR. Moreover, volume loading reduced mean arterial pressure and heart rate in both groups. It is suggested that the accentuated reflex inhibition of renal sympathetic activity in SHR upon volume loading emanates from cardiac mechanoreceptors and partly explains the exaggerated natriuresis in SHR. This augmented ‘volume’ reflex response is probably due to reduced systemic venous compliance in SHR with a consequently increased central filling and cardiac receptor activation.     

Cardiac design and pressure-volume characteristics of the left ventricle in normotensive (WKY) and hypertensive (SHR) rats after various dietary sodium treatments

Normotensive (WKY) and hypertensive rats (SHR) from 5 to 13-14 weeks of age were given 'low' (LNa; 0.5 mmol Na 100 g-1 food), 'control' (CNa; 5 or 12 mmol), 'high' (HNa; 50 mmol) and in SHR also 'medium low' (mLNa; 2 mmol) and 'very high' (vHNa; 120 mmol) sodium diets, to explore how such 240-fold variations in Na intake affect cardiac design. This was assessed in isolated perfused, temporarily-arrested hearts by recordings of left ventricular (LV) diastolic pressure-volume relationships (P/V), LV and RV weights, and by calculations of the ratio between LV wall thickness and internal radius (w/ri), after in vivo recordings of awake mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR). In WKY, where MAP was the same in all diet groups, the HNa group showed an increased w/ri due to a 20% reduction of LV diastolic volume, with signs of reduced wall compliance compared with CNa. The LNa WKY showed less marked changes in the same direction. In the SHR LNa group, where MAP was lowered about 20 mmHg, LV diastolic volume was reduced nearly 20% at a modest w/ri increase, while HNa and Cna SHR had equal MAP, LV weights, P/V and w/ri relationships. However, in vHNa SHR, where MAP was elevated about 25 mmHg, the LV showed a mainly eccentric hypertrophy with 15% increase of diastolic volume at a slight increase of w/ri. These differentiated, and in WKY and SHR partially differing structural cardiac adaptations consequent to changes in Na intake, can hardly be ascribed only to the respective pre- and afterload alterations, suggesting that also altered neuro-hormonal profiles may have contributed with 'trophic' influences.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Haemodynamics and plasma ANP (atrial natriuretic peptide) after acute blood volume expansion in normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) was measured in plasma during acute volume load in conscious, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. During basal conditions immunoreactive ANP were similar in the SHR (630 +/- 56 pmoles l-1) and the WKY (657 +/- 114 pmoles l-1) groups. An acute 10% and 20% whole blood volume expansion resulted in a linear increase in immunoreactive plasma ANP in the WKY. In the SHR the increase in plasma ANP was attenuated during the 20% volume load. During the 10% and 20% volume load central venous pressure (CVP), central blood volume (CBV) and cardiac output increased relatively more in the SHR compared with the WKY group. In contrast, the increase in peripheral blood volume (PBV) and decrease in heart rate (HR) was attenuated in the SH rats. In the SHR group there was a shift of the ANP vs. CVP and ANP vs. CBV curves to the right compared with the WKY. We conclude that acute volume loading is a potent stimulus for ANP release in WKY as well as SHR. However, in the SHR, ANP release was blunted in spite of the increased centralization of the volume load in this rat strain. Thus, the decreased responsiveness of the ANP hormonal system may contribute to the development and maintenance of hypertension in this genetic form of hypertension.     

Differential haemodynamic effects of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) in normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats

Central haemodynamic parameters and cardiac performance were measured in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY) control rats after a 10-min infusion of rat ANP (103-125), 1 micrograms kg-1 min-1. Mean Arterial blood pressure (MAP) decreased by approximately 10% in both groups of rats. Heart rate (HR) increased slightly in both strains during the infusion. In the normotensive group the fall in MAP was due to a reduction in cardiac output (CO) while in the SHR there was a decrease in CO as well as in total peripheral resistance (TPR). The ANP infusion also reduced central blood volume (CBV) and stroke volume (SV) in both groups of rats. The reduction in CBV and CO was significantly more pronounced in the WKY strain. Left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and cardiac contractility (dP/dt) did not change while central venous pressure (CVP) was slightly decreased in the WKY group as a result of the ANP infusion. We conclude that ANP reduces MAP in normotensive animals by a reduction in CO. In the SHR a reduction in TPR also contributes to the fall in MAP. Atrial natriuretic peptide did not exert any negative inotropic effects, but the reduction of CO was due to an increased venous compliance.     

Cardiovascular Responses to Acute Mental ‘Stress' in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), aged 7 months (‘manifest’ hypertension) or 10–11 weeks (‘prehypertensive’), and renal hypertensive rats (RHR; ‘nonhereditary’ hypertension were compared with normotensive rats (NCR) concerning cardiovascular responses to mental ‘stress’. Blood pressure and heart rate were followed in pairs of awake SHR—NCR and RHR—NCR, while defence reactions were provoked by alerting stimuli (light, noise, vibrations). The tachycardia, here involving both accentuated sympathetic and centrally suppressed vagal discharge, reflected the intensity of neural activation and the pressuie rise the imposed load on heart and vessels. In both respects the SHR groups responded decidedly stronger than NCR and RHR, also after either adrenergic or vagal cardiac blockade. Since SHR and NCR hearts responded equally to graded vagal stimulations or to isoprenaline, the enhanced tachycardia responses reflected a truly intensified defence reaction in SHR. Further, SHR responded more often to mild stimuli than NCR, suggesting a lower ‘threshold’ for defence reactions, and more frequently with clearcut defence reactions than NCR which exhibited vagal bradycardia responses in 30 %, versus 5 % in SHR. This hyperreactivity and apparent prevalence concerning ‘sympathotonic’ patterns in SHR during alertness, in turn tending to trigger structural vascular adaptation and manifest hypertension, is evidently genetically linked and not secondary to hypertension, being observed particularly in ‘prehypertensive’ SHR but not in RHR.     

Left ventricular hypertrophy improves cardiac performance in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Cardiac function was studied in spontaneously breathing, adult spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto normotensive rats (WKY). By rapid intravenous blood infusion, the relation between left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and stroke volume (SV) was determined while the cardiac nervous control was pharmacologically blocked. Since SV is greatly influenced by the level of afterload (mean arterial pressure, MAP), SV was also determined at increased MAP (constriction of abdominal aorta) and at decreased MAP (vasodilation by hydralazine). At low LVEDP levels, a righward shift of the Frank-Starling relationship was observed in SHR. This rightward shift seems mainly to depend on the increased MAP present in SHR since it was less prominent if MAP was lowered to normotensive levels in SHR. Maximal SV during volume infusion was similar in SHR and WKY, despite a much higher MAP in SHR. When peak SV was instead compared at similar MAP levels for both (either at ‘normotensive’ or ‘hypertensive’ levels) it was always significantly greater in SHR, and was increased largely in proportion to their increased left ventricular weight. This indicates that the left ventricular hypertrophy present in SHR is, at least at this stage, a physiological adaptation of the heart to increase its performance, in order to maintain a normal SV and hence cardiac output, despite an increased arterial pressure.     

Blood pressure and heart rate responses to mental stress in spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive (WKY) rats on various sodium diets

Normotensive (WKY) and hypertensive rats (SHR) were, from 5 to 12 weeks of age, given ‘low’ (LNa), ‘control’ and ‘high’ (HNa) Na diets (0.5, 5 and 50 mmol-100 g^-1 food, respectively, during weekly recordings of body weight, conscious indirect systolic blood pressure (SBP) and heart rate (HR). During the last week, mean arterial pressure (MAP) and HR responses to standardized stress stimuli (air jet) were recorded before and after sequential cardiac nerve blockade. While resting, SBP was about equal in all WKY groups, but it was significantly reduced in SHR-LNa (152 mmHg versus 174 and 178 mmHg in SHR controls and HNa; P < 0.05). In both LNa groups HR was elevated nearly 25% compared with controls, being in SHR 513 versus 419 bpm (P < 0.01) and in WKY 489 versus 393 bpm (P < 0.01). Cardiac nerve blockade indicated that this HR elevation was about equally due to elevations of sympathetic activity and ‘intrinsic’ pacemaker activity. SHR-LNa also showed attenuated MAP elevations to acute mental stress. There were, however, no significant differences between groups concerning haematocrit or plasma Na-K levels. The results suggest that SHR have a greater salt requirement than WKY, as Na restriction to one-tenth of normal led to a considerable MAP reduction in SHR despite compensatory sympathetic activation, and also to attenuated pressor responses to mental stress. Further, the cardiovascular effects in SHR were much more extensive when on a low-Na diet than when Na intake was increased tenfold above normal.     

Diastolic properties of the hypertrophied left ventricle in spontaneously hypertensive rats

The influence of myocardial hypertrophy on left ventricular volume compliance was studied in vitro in isolated hearts of 4 and 19 month old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). In both SHR groups diastolic volume compliance was similar to that in the controls, despite the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy. This seems to be mainly due to an altered geometric situation, since with increased wall thickness to internal radius ratio (w/ri), which was at hand, the less are outer myocardial layers stretched at a given increase in ventricular volume. This may imply that these layers will only little interfere with luminal distension (and thereby with diastolic volume compliance) in SHR. It was also observed that the progressive increase of ventricular hypertrophy from 4 to 19 months of age did not further increase w/ri in SHR, indicating an increase in overall ventricular size with age. Left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP) was also measured in conscious 5 week and 4 month old SHR compared with matched controls. LVEDP increased with the development of hypertension and was significantly elevated in 4 month old SHR. This will increase also the average diastolic pre-stretch of the SHR left ventricle and mobilize the "Starling mechanism" to maintain a normal stroke volume against the increased afterload for the heart in established hypertension. This seems particularly important since the hypertrophic w/ri increase (about 20%) is smaller than the great elevation of mean arterial pressure (40-50%) in SHR.     

Distensibility of left atrium in normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats

In spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) left atrial mechanoreceptors are reset. Thus, left atrial pressure must be almost twice as high in SHR as in normotensive rats to produce comparable degrees of receptor activation and reflex sympathetic inhibition. The present study was performed to investigate whether this resetting is due to a decreased atrial distensibility in SHR. Static load-length relationships were therefore investigated on isolated left atrial strips from 11 pairs of male SHR and Wistar Kyoto rats (WKR). After each experiment the strips were fixed at a passive tension of 4 mN and the average wall thickness was determined histologically. Furthermore, pressure-volume relationships were studied on non-beating, isolated left atria from SHR and WKR. Distensibility was here defined as % volume increase when LAP was increased from 2.5 to 12.5 mmHg either rapidly (0.5–1 s, “dynamic” distension) or slowly (3 min, “static” distension). Atrial wall thickness did not differ significantly in SHR and WKR. but the passive force (mN) per crossectional area exerted during elongation above 80% was greater (P<0.05) in SHR. Also the “dynamic”, but not the “static” volume distensibility was significantly lower in SHR (P<0.01). The decreased dynamic distensibility of SHR left atrial walls can at least partly explain the resetting of the atrial receptors activated during the rapid filling phase.     

Cardiovascular ‘reactivity’ to graded splanchnic nerve stimulation in spontaneously hypertensive and normotensive control rats

Cardiovascular ‘reactivity’ to graded splanchnic nerve stimulations was compared in adult spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive controls (NCR), during abolished adrenal medullary secretion and neurogenic cardiac control and depressed reflex vascular adjustments. Arterial pressure, heart rate and cardiac output were measured, and total peripheral resistance (TPR) and stroke volume (SV) computed before, during and after nerve stimulation. The neurogenic resistance increases in the major gastrointestinal-renal-hepatic circuits expressed themselves as TPR elevations, which were much accentuated in SHR. This reflects an increased w/r₁ of SHR resistance vessels rather than any altered effector sensitivity, since the responses were particularly accentuated at high discharge rates when noradrenaline junction concentrations approach maximal levels. The splanchnic capacitance responses expressed themselves as SV increases, being the most relevant aspect of capacitance control. SV increased less in SHR, mainly reflecting the reduced diastolic compliance of the hypertrophied SHR left ventricle and the consequent rightward shift of its Frank-Starling curve. The results indicate that an elevated resistance may well be maintained by a normal sympathetic discharge in established SHR hypertension. There seems, however, to be an increasing need for accentuated discharge to the capacitance side to maintain proper cardiac filling of the hypertrophied left ventricle.     

Cardiac function and morphology with aging in the spontaneously hypertensive rat.

To determine the effects of a chronic pressure load on cardiac function and morphology, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and two normotensive strains of Wistar rats (WKY and NWR) were studied under ether anesthesia at 13, 25, 52, and 90 wk of age. Although resting cardiac index of the SHR was comparable to that of WKY and NWR at all ages, the peak cardiac output and peak stroke volume per gram of left ventricle determined during a rapid intravenous infusion of Tyrode solution was markedly reduced in the SHR only at 90 wk of age. Autonomic inhibition did not alter the peak stroke volume attained, but reduced peak cardiac output at all ages in each of the strains. Absolute left ventricular dimensions in the SHR increased out of proportion to body growth, consistent with concentric hypertrophy. As peak pumping ability markedly declined from 52 to 90 wk of age in the SHR, the free wall of the left ventricle greatly thickened whereas the septum remained unchanged. At this time the right ventricle also hypertrophied. This disproportionate thickening of the walls of the left ventricle and the hypertrophy of the right ventricle were reflected in measurements of their fiber diameters. These alterations in ventricular architecture may contribute to the decrease in pumping ability observed in long-standing hypertension.     

Biomechanics of the saphenous artery and vein in spontaneous hypertension in rats

Incremental compliance and distensibility of certain muscular arteries were recently reported to be normal or slightly increased in hypertension at the same pressure levels. In this work biomechanical properties of isolated perfused and superfused veins and large muscular arteries from saphenous bed from male spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and Wistar–Kyoto (WKY) rats were compared in vitro. Outer diameter of cylindrical vessel segments was measured and intraluminal pressure (IP) was changed cyclically. We found larger contractile response to methoxamine (1.06×10⁻⁵ mol/l) in SHR arteries compared to WKY (active strain e.g. at 100 mmHg IP: 7.12±4.1 vs 0.35±0.46%). Resting incremental distensibility was higher (e.g. 100 mmHg IP: 3.4±0.4×10⁻⁶ vs 1.2±0.3×10⁻⁷ m²/N), elastic modulus lower (e.g. 100 mmHg IP: 3.7±0.6×10⁵ vs 27±7.6×10⁵ N/m²) in the arteries from SHR in pressure range of 60–110 mmHg. After papaverine administration (2.8×10⁻⁴ mol/l) the artery became more rigid, thus the increased incremental elasticity of SHR artery might be due to the enhanced smooth muscle tone. However, compared at in vivo pressure levels the differences were negligible suggesting a shift in the elastic parameters toward the higher operation pressures. Saphenous vein of SHR had larger diameter, than that of WKY, while in the wall thicknesses no difference were found (therefore external radius-wall thickness ratio was larger, e.g. at 6 mmHg IP: 15.9±3.0 vs 8.1±0.7). Consequently, lumen capacity of the vein was also higher in SHR, however, elastic parameters did not exhibit significant differences. We conclude that pressure-distensibility curve of muscular type arteries like SHR saphenous artery is shifted to higher pressure levels compared with that of normotensive controls. This shift is due to the enhanced smooth muscle contractility. The unchanged elasticity of veins suggests that the arterial deformations in SHR are not primary but secondary alterations.     

Alterations in tissue concentration and gene expression of adrenomedullin in spontaneously hypertensive rats

In order to elucidate the role of adrenomedullin in hypertension, we have compared concentrations of immunoreactive rat adrenomedullin and adrenomedullin messenger RNA levels in tissues of 8-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with those of age-matched Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). The adrenomedullin immunoreactivity concentrations in adrenal gland and cardiac atrium were significantly higher in SHR than in WKY. The adrenomedullin content of cardiac ventricle was also significantly higher in SHR than in WKY. The rat adrenomedullin messenger RNA levels in adrenal gland and heart of SHR were also higher than those of WKY. These results suggest that adrenomedullin participates in the mechanism to counteract the blood pressure elevation in SHR.     

Consequences of myocardial structural adaptation on left ventricular compliance and the Frank-Starling relationship in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The Frank-Starling relationship of hearts from adult spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR, Okamoto 1969), representing the established phase of hypertension, and of young SHR, representing the initial phase of hypertension, was investigated by using the isolated working heart preparation. In the "normal" diastolic pressure range (5 to 10 cm H2O), the left ventricle of both SHR groups displayed significantly reduced stroke volumes compared with hearts of normotensive controls (NCR); the degree of reduction being proportional to the left ventricular hypertrophy. This is suggested to be due to a reduced left ventricular diastolic compliance in SHR, as indicated by direct measurements of ventricular wall thickness and end-diastolic volumes in arrested hearts exposed to different end-diastolic filling pressures. Such a progressive shift of the Frank-Starling relationship to the right with duration of hypertension could, in combination with the gradual development of "structural autoregulation" of the precapillary resistance vessels, constitute dominating factors in shifting the hemodynamic situation in labile hypertension into that characterizing the established, or "fixed", state of hypertension.     

A “Western Diet” promotes symptoms of hepatic steatosis in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Systemic hypertension, characterized by elevated blood pressure ≥140/90 mm Hg, is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Hypertension also associates with non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is becoming common due to a modern diet and lifestyle. The aim of the present study was to examine whether a high‐fat "Western" diet had effects on hypertension and associated NAFLD. Normotensive Wistar‐Kyoto (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were placed on a normal chow or high‐fat diet for 8 weeks; blood pressure was measured fortnightly and body weight recorded weekly. As expected, SHR had elevated blood pressure compared to WKY. Diet did not influence blood pressure. Compared to SHR, WKY rats gained more weight, associating with increased white adipose tissue weight. Normotensive rats also had higher plasma cholesterol and triglycerides in response to a “Western” diet, with no changes in plasma glucose levels. Neither strain developed atherosclerosis. Interestingly, high‐fat diet‐fed SHR had increased liver weight, associating with a significant level of hepatic lipid accumulation not observed in WKY. Further, they exhibited hepatocellular ballooning and increased hepatic inflammation, indicative of steatohepatitis. These findings suggest that a high‐fat “Western” diet promotes features of NAFLD in SHR, but not WKY rats. Importantly, the high‐fat diet had no effect on blood pressure.     

Renal function and sympathetic activity during mental stress in normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats

The aim of the present study was to explore the role of the renal sympathetic nerves in the urinary sodium excretion response to ‘mental stress’ in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In conscious male SHR and male Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) urinary sodium excretion and renal function were measured both during ‘rest’ and during a 20 min period of ‘mental stress’. Experiments were also performed on renal denervated rats. In addition, renal sympathetic activity was measured in a separate group of rats. Urinary sodium excretion, similar at rest in SHR and WKY, decreased significantly more during the stress period in SHR (-64±5%) than in WKY (-34±7%), despite a greater arterial pressure increase in SHR. Renal sympathetic nerve activity which already at rest was higher in SHR than in WKY, also increased much more in SHR during stress than in WKY. The more intense renal sympathetic activation during stress may explain the greater reduction in urinary sodium excretion in SHR, because renal denervation almost abolished this latter response. Thus, during ‘mental stress’ the increased renal sympathetic activity reduces urinary sodium excretion in SHR despite the pressure rise, perhaps explaining why renal denervation delays the rise in arterial pressure in young SHR. The tachycardia response in SHR gradually subsided towards the end of the stress period, while renal sympathetic activity remained elevated. This indicates that neurogenic heart rate increases if anything underestimate the extent of sympathetic activation to e. g. the renal and splanchnic regions during increased alertness.     

Chronic absence of baroreceptor inputs prevents training-induced cardiovascular adjustments in normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats

We investigate whether arterial baroreceptors mediate the training-induced blood pressure fall and resting bradycardia in hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive rats (WKY). Male SHR and WKY rats, submitted to sino-aortic denervation (SAD) or sham surgery (SHAM group), were allocated to training (T; 55% of maximal exercise capacity) or sedentary (S) protocols for 3 months. Rats were instrumented with arterial and venous catheters for haemodynamic measurements at rest (power spectral analysis) and baroreceptor testing. Kidney and skeletal muscles were processed for morphometric analysis of arterioles. Elevated mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) in SHAM SHRS were accompanied by increased sympathetic variability and arteriolar wall/lumen ratio [+3.4-fold on low-frequency (LF) power and +70%, respectively, versus WKYS, P < 0.05]. Training caused significant HR (∼9% in WKY and SHR) and MAP reductions (−8% in the SHR), simultaneously with improvement of baroreceptor reflex control of HR (SHR and WKY), LF reduction (with a positive correlation between LF power and MAP levels in the SHR) and normalization of wall/lumen ratio of the skeletal muscle arterioles (SHR only). In contrast, SAD increased pressure variability in both strains of rats, causing reductions in MAP (−13%) and arteriolar wall/lumen ratio (−35%) only in the SHRS. Training effects were completely blocked by SAD in both strains; in addition, after SAD the resting MAP and HR and the wall/lumen ratio of skeletal muscle arterioles were higher in SHRT versus SHRS and similar to those of SHAM SHRS. The lack of training-induced effects in the chronic absence of baroreceptor inputs strongly suggests that baroreceptor signalling plays a decisive role in driving beneficial training-induced cardiovascular adjustments.     

Consequences of Myocardial Structural Adaptation on Left Ventricular Compliance and the Frank-Starling Relationship in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

The Frank-Starling relationship of hearts from adult spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR, Okamoto 1969), representing the established phase of hypertension, and of young SHR, representing the initial phase of hypertension, was investigated by using the isoloated working heart preparation. In the “normal” diastolic pressure range (5 to 10 cm H₂O), the left ventricle of both SHR groups displayed significantly reduced stroke volumes compared with hearts of normotensive controls (NCR); the degree of reduction being proportional to the left ventricular hypertophy. This is suggested to be due to a reduced left ventricular diastolic compliance in SHR, as indicated by direct measurements of ventricular wall thickness and end-diastolic volumes in arrested hearts exposed to different end-diastolic filling pressures. Such a progressive shift of the Frank-Starling relationship to the right with duration of hypertension could, in combination with the gradual development of “Structural autoregulation” of the precapillary resistance vessels, constitute dominating factors in shifting the hemodynamic situation in labile hypetension into that characterizing the established, or “fixed”, State of hypertension.