High-K diets reduce brain haemorrhage and infarcts, death rate and mesenteric arteriolar hypertrophy in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Male stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) were fed 4% NaCl diets containing either 0.75% normal K or 2.11% high K, starting at 6 weeks of age. After 8 months on these diets 69% of 58 SHRSP rats on 0.75% K had died, whereas 2% of 95 rats of 2.11% K died, a 98% reduction in mortality, P less than 0.000 001. After 20 weeks the daytime and night-time blood pressure (BP) of each rat were measured intra-arterially. We selected two groups precisely matched for BP. One matched SHRSP group (BP 182 mmHg) ate the 0.75% K diet and 30 of 47 rats died (64% mortality). The other matched SHRSP group (BP 182 mmHg) ate the 2.11% K diet, and two of 35 died (6% mortality, a 91% reduction of mortality, P less than 0.0001). Seemingly, the striking reduction in mortality rate with the 2.11% hig-K diet does not depend on a lowering of BP. High-K diets do not change body Na or K. The dry weight of mesenteric arterioles was reduced by 22% on 2.11% K diet versus 75% K (7.5 versus 9.7 mg) (P less than 0.001), indicating a greatly reduced hypertensive hypertrophy. In nine surviving SHRSP on 0.75% K, 13 of 36 brain hemisphere slides (four slides per rat) showed infarcts (36%). In 11 surviving SHRSP on 2.11% K, one of 44 brain slides showed infarcts (2%, a 94.5% reduction, P less than 0.0001). Brain haemorrhage was reduced by 92% on the 2.11% K diet. High-K diets allow cerebral arteries to carry very high BPs without sustaining damage to the artery wall, thereby drastically reducing brain infarcts and lowering the death rate.

Potassium prevents death from strokes in hypertensive rats without lowering blood pressure.

Adding potassium to normal chow reduces death rate in hypertensive stroke-prone (SHRSP) rats from 83 to 2%, a 98% reduction. An 86% reduction in deaths occurred even when blood pressure (BP) was virtually equal in the two SHRSP groups being compared. Potassium supplements in the diet also reduced stroke deaths in hypertensive Dahl S rats from 55 to 4%, a 93% reduction. There was an 87% reduction in deaths even when BP was actually equal in the two Dahl S groups being compared. The added potassium in the diets decreased BP moderately in SHRSP rats and modestly in Dahl S rats, which contributed somewhat to the reduction in strokes. However, more importantly, the added potassium seems to reduce the intrinsic susceptibility to cerebral artery lesions for a given level of hypertension, even when BP is not lowered.