Hypertensive Animals (hypertensive + animals)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Arterial Myogenic Properties of the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat

EXPERIMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 5 2002
Jennifer M. Hughes
When subject to a transmural pressure gradient resistance arteries develop a spontaneous, intrinsically initiated contraction which varies according to the pressure stimulus and occurs in the absence of vasoconstrictor agonists. Such pressure-dependent active changes in vascular tone are indicative of the vascular myogenic response and contribute to autoregulation and the setting of total peripheral resistance and hence blood pressure regulation. The myogenic behaviour of blood vessels provides the background tone upon which other vasomotor influences act. Hypertension is associated with a raised vascular resistance and in this article the evidence for increased myogenic activity contributing to the raised vascular resistance is reviewed. Although there are some cases that provide evidence for exaggerated myogenic responsiveness in resistance arteries taken from hypertensive animals it is not possible to conclude that enhanced myogenic contractile responses within normal pressure ranges contribute to the raised total peripheral resistance. However, the myogenic tone of the resistance arteries of the various vascular beds is subject to differing modulatory influences in hypertensive animals and their normotensive controls which may contribute to the aetiology of hypertension. [source]


Spontaneous Feline Hypertension: Clinical and Echocardiographic Abnormalities, and Survival Rate

JOURNAL OF VETERINARY INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 1 2003
Valerie Chetboul
Systemic hypertension was diagnosed in 58 of 188 untreated cats referred for evaluation of suspected hypertension-associated ocular, neurologic, cardiorespiratory, and urinary disease, or diseases frequently associated with hypertension (hyperthyroidism and chronic renal failure). Hypertensive cats were significantly older than normotensive subjects (13.0 ± 3.5 years versus 9.6 ± 5.0 years; P < .01), and had a greater prevalence of retinal lesions (48 versus 3%; P < .001), gallop rhythm (16 versus 0%; P < .001), and polyuria-polydipsia (53 versus 29%; P < .01). Blood pressure was significantly higher (P < .001) in cats with retinopathies (262 ± 34 mm Hg) than in other hypertensive animals (221 ± 34 mm Hg). Hypertensive cats had a thicker interventricular septum (5.8 ± 1.7 versus 3.7 ± 0.64 mm; P < .001) and left ventricular free wall (6.2 ± 1.6 versus 4.1 ± 0.51 mm; P < .001) and a reduced diastolic left ventricular internal diameter (13.5 ± 3.2 versus 15.8 ± 0.72 mm; P < .001) than control cats. Left ventricular geometry was abnormal in 33 of 39 hypertensive subjects. No significant difference was found in age or blood pressure at the initial visit between cats that died or survived over a 9-month period after initial diagnosis of hypertension. Mean survival times were not significantly different between hypertensive cats with normal and abnormal left ventricular patterns. Further prospective studies are needed to clearly identify the factors involved in survival time in hypertensive cats. [source]


De novo expression of Kv6.3 contributes to changes in vascular smooth muscle cell excitability in a hypertensive mice strain

THE JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 3 2009
Alejandro Moreno-Domínguez
Essential hypertension involves a gradual and sustained increase in total peripheral resistance, reflecting an increased vascular tone. This change associates with a depolarization of vascular myocytes, and relies on a change in the expression profile of voltage-dependent ion channels (mainly Ca2+ and K+ channels) that promotes arterial contraction. However, changes in expression and/or modulation of voltage-dependent K+ channels (Kv channels) are poorly defined, due to their large molecular diversity and their vascular bed-specific expression. Here we endeavor to characterize the molecular and functional expression of Kv channels in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and their regulation in essential hypertension, by using VSMCs from resistance (mesenteric) or conduit (aortic) arteries obtained from a hypertensive inbred mice strain, BPH, and the corresponding normotensive strain, BPN. Real-time PCR reveals a differential distribution of Kv channel subunits in the different vascular beds as well as arterial bed-specific changes under hypertension. In mesenteric arteries, the most conspicuous change was the de novo expression of Kv6.3 (Kcng3) mRNA in hypertensive animals. The functional relevance of this change was studied by using patch-clamp techniques. VSMCs from BPH arteries were more depolarized than BPN ones, and showed significantly larger capacitance values. Moreover, Kv current density in BPH VSMCs is decreased mainly due to the diminished contribution of the Kv2 component. The kinetic and pharmacological profile of Kv2 currents suggests that the expression of Kv6.3 could contribute to the natural development of hypertension. [source]


Neural control of the renal vasculature in angiotensin II-induced hypertension

CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 10 2002
Rohit Ramchandra
Summary 1.,Chronic administration of angiotensin (Ang) II causes an increase in blood pressure via a multitude of actions, including direct vasoconstriction, hypertrophy and increased sympathetic nerve activity. In the present study, we assessed whether the hypertension resulting from chronic AngII alters the ability of the renal vasculature to respond to sympathetic activity. 2.,Angiotensin II was administered for 7 weeks via an osmotic minipump at a dose of 50 ng/kg per min, i.v., to a group of six rabbits. Blood pressure, measured at 0, 1, 2 and 6 weeks after insertion of the pump, increased from 76 ± 2 to 104 ± 6 mmHg at the end of 6 weeks, without any significant change in heart rate. The blood pressure in the control group remained constant at 76 ± 2 mmHg. 3.,After 7 weeks, rabbits were anaesthetized and the renal nerves were stimulated at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 5 or 8 Hz for 3 min at their supramaximal voltage (5.5 ± 1.0 V in the normotensive group and 6.5 ± 1.5 V in the hypertensive group) while the renal blood flow (RBF) response was recorded. Under anaesthesia, there was no difference in mean arterial pressure between the normotensive and hypertensive animals (77 ± 2 and 80 ± 7 mmHg, respectively). The resting RBF under these conditions was not significantly different in the hypertensive group (30 ± 4 vs 26 ± 5 mL/min in the normotensive vs hypertensive group, respectively). 4.,Stimulation at increasing frequencies was associated with increasing reductions in RBF (e.g. 36 ± 8% at 2 Hz in normotensive rabbits and 48 ± 7% at 2 Hz in hypertensive rabbits). However, there were no significant differences between RBF responses in normotensive and hypertensive rabbits. 5.,We conclude that hypertension associated with chronic AngII administration does not alter the response in RBF to electrical stimulation of the nerves. [source]