Left Ventricle Myocardium Volume Densities in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) Following Combination of Exercise and ACE Inhibitor Treatment. A Stereological Study

One of the nonpharmacological interventions used in the management of hypertension is moderate physical exercise. Moderate exercise is considered as a useful tool in reducing blood pressure and is often prescribed to hypertensive patients in addition to drug treatment (Mancia et al., 1999). Some studies indicated that moderate exercise increase left ventricular hypertrophy in rats and that the beneficial effect of exercise on hypertension is through the improvement in coronary micro vasculature (Anversa et al., 1983; Crisman & Tomanek, 1985). Moderate exercise has been shown to also induced myocardial capillary growth in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (Crisman & Tomanek) Others have suggested that moderate exercise in humans reduces left ventricular hypertrophy (Himeno et al., 1996; Hinderliter et al., 2002).