Cardiovascular disease is associated with high-fat-diet-induced liver damage and up-regulation of the hepatic expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α in a rat model.

CVD (cardiovascular disease) is associated with abnormal liver enzymes, and NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) is independently associated with cardiovascular risk. To gain insights into the molecular events underlying the association between liver enzymes and CVD, we developed an HFD (high-fat diet)-induced NAFLD in the SHR (spontaneously hypertensive rat) and its control WKY (Wistar-Kyoto) rat strain. We hypothesized that hepatic induction of Hif1a (hypoxia-inducible factor 1α) might be the link between CVD and liver injury.