Experimental Evidences Supporting Training-Induced Benefits in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

It is well known that chronic hypertension is accompanied by several functional deficits in the central nervous system and peripheral tissues, most of which are corrected by exercise training. However, the biological mechanisms underlying these effects are not yet well understood. In the present chapter we summarize recent experimental evidence on cellular/molecular mechanisms supporting not only the deleterious effects of hypertension on autonomic control and peripheral circulatory deficits, but also their reversion by low to moderate aerobic exercise training. Interestingly, both hypertension and aerobic training exert their effects by acting exactly on the same pathways/mechanisms but in opposed directions.