Implication of hypertensive rat models for primordial nutritional prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

1. Various substrains maintained during selective sib-mating contributed to the establishment of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with a variety of clinical features. 2. Stroke-prone SHR (SHRSP), developing haemorrhagic and/or ischaemic stroke spontaneously, are regarded as a model for osteoporosis. 3. The genetic mechanisms of spontaneous hypertension have been attributed pathophysiologically to neural and structural vascular alterations. 4. The mechanisms of stroke are ascribed to the limited regional oxygen and nutrient supplies to the brain areas fed by perforating arteries. 5. The genome-wide linkage analysis on the F2 obtained by crosses of SHRSP with normotensive strains has demonstrated different gene loci contributing to the development and maintenance of hypertension during the ageing process and also genes influencing the susceptibility to stroke without any effect on blood pressure. 6. Experimental studies in SHRSP revealed that stroke could be prevented by protein, Ca- or Mg-supplemented diets, particularly if given in the early stage, indicating the importance of primordial nutritional prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). 7. Experimental findings in SHRSP as well as epidemiological studies on nutrition and CVD indicate the future avenue towards 'predictive-preventive medicine' for CVD.