Pressure-independent arteriolar rarefaction in hypertension.

To assess the role of pressure in the arteriolar rarefaction associated with hypertension, we studied microvascular density in a hindquarters muscle (cremaster) of rats, 8 wk after coarctation (n = 8) or sham-coarctation (n = 10) of the abdominal aorta. To document the level of arterial pressure in hindquarters vascular beds of similar rats 8-9 wk after initial surgery, we implanted femoral arterial catheters under anesthesia and, 2-5 days later, we measured conscious femoral arterial pressures in coarcted [93 +/- 4 (SE) mmHg; n = 7] and sham-coarcted (110 +/- 3 mmHg; n = 4) rats. The cremaster muscle microcirculation was examined after fixation and Microfil infusion at in vivo pressures. The density of distal third- to fourth-order arterioles was lower by 19% (P = 0.03) in coarcted (1.37 +/- 0.06 mm/mm2) than in sham-coarcted (1.69 +/- 0.11 mm/mm2) rats. We conclude that pressure-independent mechanisms are involved in the arteriolar rarefaction accompanying hypertension.