Effect of antihypertensive treatment on myogenic properties of brain arteries from the stroke-prone rat.

Using an in vitro pressurized technique, we measured the myogenic pressure range and degree of myogenic activity in posterior cerebral arteries from stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) and rats of the same strain maintained by antihypertensive therapy. Treatment lowered the upper myogenic pressure limit and increased the strength of the myogenic response to levels comparable with those previously found in normotensive (Wistar-Kyoto, WKY) rats, suggesting that blood pressure history is the primary determinant of myogenic properties in the cerebral circulation.