Hypertensive mechanisms: the role of altered smooth muscle and membrane function in the etiology of hypertension.

Overview

The etiology of essential hypertension has been under intensive investigation for a number of years, and the availability of a number of rat models of this disease has aided our understanding of the relationship between abnormalities in cardiovascular regulatory function and hypertension. It is accepted that abnormalities at a number of levels of these regulatory processes could be the basis of the pathological process; however, the cause-effect relationship has not always been clearly established. This introduction addresses the potential relationship between a number of parameters and the control of blood pressure, and the Symposium attempts to relate altered smooth muscle and membrane function to hypertension.