Cardiac Endothelin-1 Plays a Critical Role in the Functional Deterioration of Left Ventricles During the Transition From Compensatory Hypertrophy to Congestive Heart Failure in Salt-Sensitive Hypertensive Rats

To investigate whether endogenous ET-1 participates in an adaptive process of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) or a maladaptive process from LVH to congestive heart failure (CHF), we used a Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) rat model, in which systemic hypertension caused compensated concentric LVH at the age of 11 weeks followed by marked LV dilatation and global hypokinesis at the age of 17 weeks.By specific sandwich enzyme immunoassay, serum and...