Abnormal ion and water composition of veins and normotensive arteries in coarctation hypertension in rats.

We examined the water, sodium, and potassium composition of the thoracic aorta, abdominal aorta (plus iliac arteries), and veins (vena cava and portal vein) from rats with aortic coarctation. The aortas of 10 rats (group A) were coarcted above the renal arteries to produce hypertension. Control groups consisted of 10 rats sham-coarcted above and 10 rats coarcted below the renal arteries. In group A rats heart weights and carotid artery pressures were elevated over controls (P less than 0.01), whereas there were no significant differences in femoral arterial pressures. In group A rats both the hypertensive thoracic aorta and the normotensive abdominal aorta contained about 20% more water per unit of wet weight, and about 35% and 60% more sodium and potassium, respectively, per unit of dry weight than did the corresponding portions of aorta from control rats (P less than 0.01). In group A rats water (P less than 0.01), sodium (P less than 0.02), and potassium (P less than 0.05) contents of veins also were increased. There were no significant correlations between level of carotid arterial pressure and magnitude of changes in arterial and venous composition, nor were there significant differences between the magnitude of changes in the normotensive and hypertensive portions of the aorta. These results indicate that in rats abnormalities in vascular wall salt and water content are not necessarily a direct effect of the elevated pressure in hypertension.