Effect of potassium supplementation on blood pressure and vasodilator mechanisms in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Abstract

1. Supplementation with 1% (w/v) KCl solution significantly attenuated the blood pressure rise with age normally observed in spontaneously hypertensive rats, resulting in a difference in blood pressure of 18 mmHg after 5 weeks. 2. Urinary 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α (the stable hydrolysis product of prostacyclin) and kallikrein excretion were significantly elevated in rats receiving potassium. 3. No difference was observed in sodium excretion during the initial days of potassium supplementation; however, the potassium-supplemented animals excreted relatively more sodium over the 5 week period. 4. Plasma renin activity was significantly reduced in those animals receiving potassium after 5 weeks. 5. It is proposed that a combination of increased systemic and/or renal prostacyclin and kallikrein synthesis may, in combination with reduced renin activity, contribute to the attenuation of blood pressure in potassium-supplemented spontaneously hypertensive rats.