High fructose diet increases mortality in hypertensive rats compared to a complex carbohydrate or high fat diet.
BACKGROUND
Chronic hypertension leads to cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, and premature death. Little is known about the impact of dietary macronutrient composition on hypertension-induced cardiac hypertrophy and mortality. We investigated the effects of consuming either a high complex carbohydrate diet, a high simple sugar diet, or a high fat diet on cardiac hypertrophy and mortality in hypertensive Dahl salt-sensitive (DSS) rats.


METHODS
Rats were assigned to four diets: complex carbohydrate (CC; 70% starch, 10% fat, 20% protein by energy), high fat (FAT; 20% carbohydrates, 60% fat, 20% protein), high fructose (FRU; 70% fructose, 10% fat, 20% protein), and "western" (WES; 35% fructose, 45% fat, 20% protein). Hypertension was initiated by adding 6% NaCl (+S) to the chow of half the animals within each diet (n = 10 to 13/group). Tail cuff blood pressure measurements were assessed after 5 and 11 weeks of treatment, and echocardiography were assessed after 12 weeks of treatment.


RESULTS
All rats fed a high salt diet had similar levels of hypertension (CC+S 220 +/-2 mm Hg, FAT+S 221 +/- 3 mm Hg, FRU+S 221 +/- 1 mm Hg, WES+S 226 +/- 3 mm Hg). Echocardiography results show that the addition of salt to FRU resulted in increased regional wall thickness that was not observed in other dietary groups. All rats fed a low salt diet (CC, FAT, FRU, WES) and the FAT+S group survived 90 days. On the other hand, there was 90-day mortality in the WES+S group (18% mortality) and the CC+S group (30% mortality). In addition, FRU+S rats started dying after 45 days of salt feeding, and only 15% survived the full 90 days.


CONCLUSIONS
These results demonstrate that a high fructose diet consumed during hypertension increases mortality and left ventricular (LV) wall thickness compared to either a high fat, high starch, or a "western" diet.
Sharma
Naveen
N
Department of Nutrition, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-4970, USA.
Okere
Isidore C
IC
Duda
Monika K
MK
Johnson
Janean
J
Yuan
Celvie L
CL
Chandler
Margaret P
MP
Ernsberger
Paul
P
Hoit
Brian D
BD
Stanley
William C
WC
D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005632:Fructose / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D020303:Rats, Inbred Dahl; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000503:physiopathology
D001786:Blood Glucose; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D019422:Dietary Sucrose; D014280:Triglycerides; D005632:Fructose