Ivabradine treatment lowers blood pressure and promotes cardiac and renal protection in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Hypertension is linked to hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) function, expressed in excitable and non-excitable cells. Considering that the reduction in heart rate (HR) improves coronary perfusion and cardiac performance, ivabradine (IVA) emerged as an important drug for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Evaluate if IVA chronic treatment effect can mitigate hypertension and reverse the cardiac and renal damage in SHR. Rats were divided into 4 groups treated for 14 days with PBS (1 ml/kg; i.p) or IVA (1 mg/kg; i.p): 1) WKY PBS; 2) SHR PBS; 3) WKY IVA; and 4) SHR IVA. The systolic blood pressure (SBP) was measured, indirectly, before and during the treatment period with IVA (day 0, 1, 7 and 11). Rats were subjected to artery cannulation for direct blood pressure (BP) measurement. Morphofunctional and gene expression were evaluated in the heart and kidneys. IVA reduced SBP only in SHR on the 7th day. Direct blood pressure measurement showed that IVA chronic treatment reduced HR in the SHR. Interestingly, mean arterial pressure (MAP) was reduced in SHR IVA when compared to SHR PBS. Serum and urinary biochemical data were not altered by IVA. Moreover, IVA reduced the renal inflammatory infiltrates and increased glomerular density, besides preventing the cardiac inflammatory and hypertrophic responses. IVA treatment lowered blood pressure, improved cardiac remodeling and inflammation, as well as decreasing renal damage in SHR. Further, IVA increased renal HCN2 mRNA and reduced cardiac HCN4 mRNA. •IVA treatment (1 mg/kg. i.p.) during 14 days lowered blood pressure and heart rate.•IVA was capable to improved cardiac remodeling by reducing cardiomyocytes hypertrophy and reduced inflammation.•IVA reduced kidneys interstitial edema and increased glomerular density in SHR.•IVA reduced HCN4 mRNA in the left ventricle and increased HCN2 mRNA in the kidney.•IVA pleiotropic effects may be associated with restoring heart and kidney damage.