Inhibition by diltiazem of left ventricle collagen proliferation during renovascular hypertension development in rats.

Diltiazem administered in drinking water (0.7 mg mL-1) to Goldblatt two kidney-one clip rats over 16 weeks did not prevent the development of hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). When the collagen content of the left ventricles was assayed (as hydroxyproline), it was found that the fibrosis, characteristic of LVH, was inhibited by diltiazem treatment, despite the fact that hypertension and LVH had developed. This study provides some indirect evidence for the notion that the collagen and myocyte compartments of the myocardium are under separate influences during LVH development in renovascular hypertension.