Background: A major problem in the treatment of human hypertension is the late diagnosis
of hypertension and, hence, the delayed start of treatment. Very often, hypertension has existed
for a long time and cardiac damage has already developed. Therefore, we tested whether lateonset antihypertensive treatment is effective in lowering blood pressure (BP) and in reducing or
even preventing left ventricular hypertrophy and fibrosis. Methods: Twenty-one male 60-week-old
spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were included. Fourteen rats received oral treatment with
captopril (CAP) either as monotherapy or combined with nifedipine (CAP + NIF) over 22 weeks.
Seven untreated SHR served as controls. We examined the therapeutic effects on BP, heart weight
and histological and biochemical markers of left ventricular remodeling and fibrosis. Results: At
82 weeks of age, BP was reduced in the CAP and CAP + NIF groups by 44 and 51 mmHg, respectively
(p < 0.001), but not in untreated controls. Despite the late therapy start, cardiac hypertrophy and
fibrosis were attenuated compared to controls. Both treatments reduced heart weight by 1.2 mg/g
(25%, p = 0.001) and collagens I and III by 66% and 60%, respectively (p < 0.001), thus proving
nearly equivalent cardioprotective efficacy. Conclusion: These data clearly emphasize the benefit of
antihypertensive treatment in reducing BP and mitigating the development of cardiac damage even
when treatment is started late in life.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:88488 |
| Date | 06 December 2023 |
| Creators | Hawlitschek, Christina, Brendel, Julia, Gabriel, Philipp, Schierle, Katrin, Salameh, Aida, Zimmer, Heinz-Gerd, Rassler, Beate |
| Publisher | MDPI |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | 2227-9059, 10.3390/biomedicines10081964 |
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