SODIUM BUT NOT CHLORIDE-ION MODULATES LEFT-VENTRICULAR HYPERTROPHY IN2-KIDNEY, ONE-CLIP HYPERTENSION

Objective: To assess the role of dietary sodium with or without chlori de on the development of hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy . Methods and results: Forty-nine male Sprague-Dawley rats with two-ki dney, one clip hypertension were fed three different diets for 4 weeks after dipping: free access to sodium chloride, sodium citrate or sodi um-free diet. Sham-operated rats were used as controls. The final cons cious systolic arterial pressure was similar in all hypertensive group s, regardless of diet. A similar increase in left ventricular mass was observed in the rats on the sodium chloride and sodium citrate diets, whereas left ventricular hypertrophy was strikingly attenuated in the rats on the sodium-free diet. Conclusion: Dietary sodium restriction prevented the development of left ventricular hypertrophy without affe cting consistently the final level of hypertension. Also, the anion as sociated with sodium had no influence on the level of arterial pressur e and left ventricular mass when compared with Fats maintained on sodi um chloride. It is suggested that dietary sodium itself might be an im portant modulator of the left ventricular response to hypertension.