Parathyroidectomy significantly decreases hypertension in spontaneously hypertensive and deoxycorticosterone plus saline treated rats.

In male Sprague--Dawley rats, hypertensive development was diminished for 10 weeks when parathyroidectomy (PTX) was performed 1 week before deoxycorticosterone plus saline (DOCA + NaCl) treatment. In young spontaneously hypertensive male rats (SHR, Okamoto strain) parathyroidectomy performed after weaning lessened hypertensive levels and lowered heart rate for 24 weeks. When mineralocorticoid or genetic hypertension was established, parathyroidectomy did not significantly change blood pressure levels. High dietary calcium in PTX--SHR rats reestablished normal serum calcium but not systolic blood pressure to the level of sham SHR. From our present and previously reported results, it appears that the parathyroid gland is necessary for the total development of hypertension in both models.