Basic research into the mechanisms responsible for postmenopausal hypertension.

Women typically experience increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) following menopause. Major risk factors for CVD include hypertension and, after menopause, blood pressure increases in women. The mechanism(s) responsible for this increase are not determined. Changes in oestrogen/androgen ratios, possible activation of the renin-angiotensin system, and increases in endothelin and oxidative stress, are hallmarks in postmenopausal women. Obesity, type 2 diabetes and activation of the sympathetic nervous system may also play important roles. However, progress in clarifying the mechanisms responsible for postmenopausal hypertension has been hampered by lack of a suitable animal model. We have recently characterised the ageing female spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) as a model of postmenopausal hypertension, since this strain exhibits many of the humoral characteristics of postmenopausal women. This review discusses some of the mechanisms that could play a role in postmenopausal hypertension, as well as the characteristics of the ageing female SHR as a model.