[Metabolic damage to the myocardium in normotensive and hypertensive rats (morphometric analysis)]

Morphological changes of myocardium were demonstrated in normotensive Wistar rats and in rats with inherited stress-induced arterial hypertension 1, 7 and 30 days following adrenaline induced damage. In acute period contracture damage to cardiomyocytes was more pronounced in Wistar rats. Death of the fraction of cardiomyocytes is compensated by hypertrophy of the surviving cells already by d 7. In hypertensive rats' hypertrophied myocardium on d 1 microcirculatory bed is more impaired, while regenerative processes in cardiomyocytes are delayed and defective, which leads to dystrophy and degeneration by the end of the experiment. It is concluded that the course and prognosis of myocardial metabolic injury is determined by its initial state and potential compensatory resources.