Effects Of Dwelling Conditions On Cardiovascular Parameters In Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

1. Living conditions are an important environmental factor for laboratory animals. We studied the effects of different living conditions on the cardiovascular parameters in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).2. In both the light and the dark phase, the heart rate of rats kept in a wire-mesh cage was significantly greater than the heart rate of rats kept under the other living conditions (with wood-shaving bedding material in a plastic cage, with cloth bedding material in a plastic cage and with cloth bedding material in a wire-mesh cage, P < 0.01 by the paired t-test).3. Systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure of rats kept in a wire-mesh cage in the light phase was significantly higher than the heart rates of rats kept under the other living conditions (with wood-shaving bedding materials in a plastic cage, with cloth bedding materials in a plastic cage, P < 0.01 by the paired t-test).4. Based on these results, we concluded that the living conditions had a substantial influence on the cardiovascular parameters in SHR.