Why does obesity cause hypertension in some individuals but not others? Consulting Editor Dr. Shawn Bender (University of Missouri) interviews authors Stephanie Watts and Greg Fink (both of Michigan State University), along with expert Andreas Beyer (Medical College of Wisconsin), about a new study by Watts et al. Fink and Watts have had a prolific research collaboration for over 20 years investigating the physiology and pharmacology of hypertension. In recent years they have focused on the genetically hypertensive-prone Dahl salt-sensitive rat, which becomes hypertensive on a high fat diet, and the vascular and perivascular mechanisms contributing to this form of hypertension. Zeroing in on endothelial function, basic hyper-reactivity, and perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) in aortas of Dahl SS rats fed a high fat diet, the authors found vascular dysfunction was more prevalent in males vs. females. Watts and Fink want you to reconsider PVAT as a critically important part of the vasculature, not simply a secretor of anti-contractile substances. Why? Listen now.

Stephanie W. Watts, Emma S. Darios, G. Andres Contreras, Hannah Garver, Gregory D. Fink Male and Female High Fat Fed Dahl SS rats are largely protected from vascular dysfunctions: PVAT contributions reveal sex differences. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published June 14, 2021. DOI: doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00131.2021