Cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs) in humans are a mixture of diseases with different etiologies. 2. Although the stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHRSP) cannot represent all types of CVDs, it is probably a good genetic model for particular types such as lacunar infarction and intracerebral hemorrhage. 3. Genetic studies suggested that SHRSP has genetic susceptibility to stroke independent of its severe hypertension. Studies on SHRSP may provide useful information with which to dissect genetic susceptibility to particular types of CVDs.