Figure 1.

(A) Experimental design timeline. HTN was induced through 6 weeks of high salt diet (8% NaCl). DSI transmitters and VNS devices were implanted during Week 5. Rats were randomly divided into two groups: HTN-Sham (n = 6) with nonfunction VNS stimulators and HTN-VNS (n = 6) with functional stimulators. VNS therapy was turned on at Week 6, and ECG and blood pressure were monitored in both groups. (B) Sample ECG (top) and arterial blood pressure (bottom) recordings from DSI telemetric devices. Insert: MAP is calculated using SBP and DBP measured from the blood pressure recordings.