Haemodynamic changes during tilt after autonomic blockade in spontaneously hypertensive rats

The haemodynamic shifts during head up and head down tilt were investigated in adult spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and matched normotensive control rats (NCR) under nembutal anaesthesia and autonomic blockage. During head up tilt a greater fall in blood pressure and stroke volume was observed in SHR than in NCR, while the reverse was true when tilted in the opposite direction. This altered cardiac response to venous filling, also observed in patients with essential hypertension, is suggested to be caused by an altered Frank-Starling relationship of the hypertrophied heart in hypertensive individuals.