Objective: Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) are sensitive to a high salt intake and we investigated the question of whether flow-induced dilation is affected by this type of diet, as flow responses are especially sensitive to small changes in extracellular sodium concentrations.
Methods: We evaluated the effects of a diuretic (indapamide, 1.5 mg/kg per day, 8 weeks) on four groups of SHR (n=42). One group was fed with a normal-salt diet (0.4%, control group, n=10), the second with a high-sodium diet (8%, n=12), the third with a high-sodium diet and indapamide (1.5 mg/kg per day, 8% salt, n=10) and the fourth group was fed with indapamide alone (1.5 mg/kg per day, n=10). The response to flow was studied in mesenteric resistance arteries (146+/-6.1 microm internal diameter, pressure 100 mmHg) cannulated in vitro in an arteriograph.
Results: The increase in mean arterial pressure (from 186+/-4 to 218+/-6 mmHg; P < 0.01) and heart weight: body weight ratio (3.48+/-0.09 versus 4.34+/-0.1 mg/g; P< 0.01) caused by the high salt intake was prevented by indapamide. A high salt intake significantly decreased flow-induced dilation (6+/-0.8 versus 10.7+/-1.2 microm dilation with a flow of 160 microl/min; P< 0.05), while indapamide significantly prevented the decrease in flow-induced dilation in high-salt SHR. Indapamide had no significant effect on flow-induced dilation in mesenteric resistance arteries from SHR with a normal-salt diet.
Conclusions: Indapamide prevented the decrease in flow-induced dilation caused by a high-salt diet Therefore, indapamide might counteract the disturbance in sodium-sensitive flow sensor(s), through a diuretic effect.