Cardiovascular response to acute stress in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

To THE EDITOR: Toward the end of the Discussion in an article recently published in Hypertension, my colleagues and I noted in parentheses that no data on baroreceptor reflex dysfunction in aged SHR were available. We sincerely regret that this description resulted from an incomplete survey of the literature. Dr. M. C. Andresen of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston has kindly informed us of his article dealing with baroreceptor reflex sensitivity in old SHR. We were aware of the data of depressed baroreceptor reflex sensitivity in young and adult SHR (for example, see Reference 3). Although baroreceptor reflex studies performed in rats at ages near 100 weeks, as in our study, seem to be unavailable, the article by Andresen should be interpreted to suggest reduced baroreceptor reflex function in old SHR.