title: Rat cardiovascular responses to whole body suspension: head-down and non-head-down tilt.
abstract: The rat whole body suspension technique mimics responses seen during exposure to microgravity and was evaluated as a model for cardiovascular responses with two series of experiments. In one series, changes were monitored in chronically catheterized rats during 7 days of head-down tilt (HDT) or non-head-down tilt (N-HDT) and after several hours of recovery. Elevations of mean arterial (MAP), systolic, and diastolic pressures of approximately 20% (P < 0.05) in HDT rats began as early as day 1 and were maintained for the duration of suspension. Pulse pressures were relatively unaffected, but heart rates were elevated approximately 10%. During postsuspension (2-7 h), most cardiovascular parameters returned to presuspension levels. N-HDT rats exhibited elevations chiefly on days 3 and 7. In the second series, blood pressure was monitored in 1- and 3-day HDT and N-HDT rats to evaluate responses to rapid head-up tilt. MAP, systolic and diastolic pressures, and HR were elevated (P < 0.05) in HDT and N-HDT rats during head-up tilt after 1 day of suspension, while pulse pressures remained unchanged. HDT rats exhibited elevated pretilt MAP and failed to respond to rapid head-up tilt with further increase of MAP on day 3, indicating some degree of deconditioning. The whole body suspended rat may be useful as a model to better understand responses of rats exposed to microgravity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Louisville, Kentucky 40292.
authors.forename: X J
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Musacchia
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Steffen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dombrowski
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D006257:Head / Q000502:physiology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013997:Time Factors; D014893:Weightlessness / Q000009:adverse effects*