Integrative mechanisms of blood pressure regulation in humans and rats: cross-species similarities

Abstract

As our understanding of the importance of individualized medicine continues to grow, the clinical relevance of interindividual variability in hemodynamic variables is receiving increasing attention. However, it is not known whether the rat, which is often used for studies of cardiovascular regulation, exhibits similar interindividual variability. In the present study, we evaluated whether the magnitude of interindividual variability in cardiac output (CO) and total peripheral resistance (TPR) was similar in humans and in rats. We assessed interindividual variability of mean arterial pressure (MAP), CO, and TPR during control conditions in normotensive humans ( n = 40) and during normotension and deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertension in Sprague-Dawley rats ( n = 16). Humans and rats showed marked interindividual variability in CO and TPR but low variability in MAP. During deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertension, CO was maintained, but TPR was elevated compared with the baseline period. We conclude that the magnitudes of interindividual variability of MAP, CO, and TPR are quantitatively similar in humans and rats, providing support for the relevance of this variability in both species and suggesting that studies in rats could be designed to address questions specific to individualized medicine in hypertension.