Cardiovascular reactivity and neurogenic tone in hypertension derived from renal artery stenosis and contralateral nephrectomy in the rat.

In the current study a) cardiovascular reactivity (CR) to norepinephrine (NE) and b) the effect of a ganglionic blocker (pentolinium, P) during the early (2nd week) and a later period (10th week) of hypertension elicited by unilateral renal ischemia and contralateral nephrectomy in the rat have been described. Neither the threshold doses nor the dose-pressor response curves have shown a greater reactivity of the cardiovascular system to NE in this type of hypertension. An increase in the activity of the nervous system apparently contributes to hypertension in the early period but would disappear when the one-kidney renovascular hypertension is chronically established; in both phases some other still undefined factor/s are present for fuller development of high arterial pressure.