Low urinary kallikrein rats: different sensitivity of verapamil on hypertensive response to central acute cadmium administration.

Essential hypertension is a common disease caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Cadmium (Cd), an important environmental pollutant, is able to induce hypertension in humans. In rats, intracerebroventricular (icv) Cd administration causes a sustained increase in arterial blood pressure.