Autonomic and cardiovascular consequences resulting from experimental hemorrhagic stroke in the left or right intermediate insular cortex in rats.

Damage to the insular cortex (IC) results in serious cardiovascular consequences and evidence indicates that the characteristics are lateralized. However, a study comparing the effects of focal experimental hemorrhage between IC sides was never performed. We compared the cardiovascular, autonomic and cardiac changes produced by focal experimental hemorrhage (ICH) into the left (L) or right (R) IC.

Beneficial effects of angiotensin-(1-7) against deoxycorticosterone acetate-induced diastolic dysfunction occur independently of changes in blood pressure.

Mineralocorticoids have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diastolic heart failure. On the contrary, angiotensin (Ang)-(1-7) has emerged as a potential strategy for treatment of cardiac dysfunction induced by excessive mineralocorticoid receptor activation. A critical question about the cardioprotective effect of Ang-(1-7) in hypertensive models is its dependence on blood pressure (BP) reduction.

Functional cross-talk between aldosterone and angiotensin-(1-7) in ventricular myocytes.

High serum levels of aldosterone have been linked to the development of cardiac disease. In contrast, angiotensin (Ang)-(1-7) was extensively shown to possess cardioprotective effects, including the attenuation of cardiac dysfunction induced by excessive mineralocorticoid activation in vivo, suggesting possible interactions between these 2 molecules. Here, we investigated whether there is cross-talk between aldosterone and Ang-(1-7) and its functional consequences for calcium (Ca(2+)) signaling in ventricular myocytes.