Aortic and carotid arterial stiffness and epigenetic regulator gene expression changes precede blood pressure rise in stroke-prone Dahl salt-sensitive hypertensive rats.

ABSTRACT: Multiple clinical studies show that arterial stiffness, measured as pulse wave velocity (PWV), precedes hypertension and is an independent predictor of hypertension end organ diseases including stroke, cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease. Risk factor studies for arterial stiffness implicate age, hypertension and sodium. However, causal mechanisms linking risk factor to arterial stiffness remain to be elucidated. Here, we studied the causal relationship of arterial stiffness and hypertension in the Na-induced, stroke-prone Dahl salt-sensitive (S) hypertensive rat model, and analyzed putative molecular mechanisms. Stroke-prone and non-stroke-prone male and female rats were studied at 3- and 6-weeks of age for arterial stiffness (PWV, strain), blood pressure, vessel wall histolo

SUBMITTER: Herrera VL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4168262 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature