Effect of physical training on the development of hypertension in the spontaneously hypertensive rat

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Abstract
The effect of chronic physical exercise on the development of hypertension was measured in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and their progenitor normotensive wistar-kyoto controls (WK). Starting 4–5 weeks after birth groups of rats were subjected to swimming exercise 1 h×day−1, 4 days×weeks−1 for a total period of 11 weeks. Control rats were handled daily without exercise. Both in trained SHR and WK a significant delay in increase in body weight was observed. Physical training caused a small, but significant (PPPP<0.01) increase in the ratio heart weight to body weight in WK. Both trained and non-trained SHR have a ca. 25% higher relative heart weight than WK controls. SHR hearts did not further hypertrophy as a consequence of physical exercise. These data indicate that swim training induces a trained state in both SHR and WK. Moreover, this form of training causes a slight, but significant attennation of the development of hypertension in SHR.