The borderline hypertensive rat: A model for studying the mechanisms of environmentally induced hypertension.

Discusses studies of environmental mechanisms in borderline hypertension that have used the borderline hypertensive rat (BHR), a 1st-generation cross between the spontaneously hypertensive rat and the normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rat. The BHR develops frank hypertension when chronically stressed or when fed a high-sodium diet. This stress-induced hypertension can be blocked by exercise. The role of the central nervous system (CNS) in hypertension development in this model is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)