Experimental hypertension in rats - Experimental models Archives - Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia

Purpose: to develop an experimental model in rats to study the interaction between hypertension and pregnancy. Methods: the present experiment was divided into 5 periods: adaptation (2 weeks), surgical procedures (1 week), hypertension development (6 weeks), mating and blood pressure stabilization (6 weeks), and gestational period (3 weeks). A total of 82 animals in reproductive age, weighing from 180 to 240 g, were used. They were randomly assigned to the 4 different groups (control, handled, nephrectomy and hypertension) and renal hypertension was produced by a controlled constriction of the main left renal artery, according to the technique described by Goldblatt, and contralateral nephrectomy (Goldblatt I - one kidney, one clip hypertension). They were studied at 15 precise moments. Afterwards, periodic blood pressure determinations were made by the tail plethysmographic method. Results: pregnancy caused a fall in blood pressure levels in the rat. Conclusion: the experimental model was adequate for the purposes of the study, since it proved to be efficient in producing hypertension.