Exercise capacity in different stages of hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to investigate the exercise capacity of hypertensive rats at different stages of development of hypertension and to determine the most suitable index to evaluate the exercise capacity in different strains. METHODS: Male spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) and normotensive Wistar rats (NWR) of 5, 8, 12 and 16 weeks were submitted to the exercise capacity test. The exercise running time was measured and the workload was calculated. RESULTS: Normotensive and hypertensive rats when assess the exercise capacity by exercise running time exhibited a reduction in exercise performance over time. Moreover, hypertensive rats showed lower exercise capacity compared to normotensive control when analyzed by workload. CONCLUSIONS: The present results indicate that hypertensive rats exhibit reduced exercise capacity compared to normotensive rats regardless of age assessed. Beside that, in experiments with strains with different body mass the most reliable index to assess exercise capacity is workload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]