Retarded development of hypertension in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats following chronic alcohol consumption.
The influence of chronic alcohol consumption on blood pressure was examined in normotensive Wistar/Kyoto rats (WKY) and in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR-SP). Ethanol, administered in drinking water from 5 weeks of age to produce moderate blood alcohol levels, substantially retarded the development of hypertension in SHR-SP and caused a mild reduction of blood pressure in WKY. Alcohol withdrawal caused an acute rise in blood pressure in both strains, followed by a reduction to the subnormal levels previously induced by alcohol treatment. This sustained antihypertensive effect of alcohol was not attributable to reductions of body weight or fluid intake.
D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D011921:Rats, Inbred WKY; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology
D000431:Ethanol