Sex-Specific Cardiovascular Consequences of Long-Term High-Salt Diet in Mice.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Excessive dietary salt intake is associated with elevated blood pressure and damage to organs including the heart, vasculature, and kidneys. Women are more prone to salt-sensitive hypertension, yet preclinical studies often focus on men.

Methods

To examine sex-specific responses to chronic salt loading, male and female C57Bl6/J mice were fed a high-salt diet (HSD; 8% NaCl) from 7 to 14 months of age. Subsets of HSD mice were switched to a normal diet after 28 weeks. Blood pressure was measured via tail-cuff plethysmography, and cardiac function assessed by magnetic resonance imaging. Vascular responses were analyzed by wire myography, and histological and molecular analyses were performed on heart, aorta, and kidney tissues.

Results

After 56 weeks, only HSD

SUBMITTER: Duarte JMN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12684615 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature