Calcium currents were recorded during whole-cell voltage clamp in cultured azygos venous muscle cells from 1-3-day-old normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Different holding potentials were used to separate total cell current into its transient (T) and sustained or long-lasting (L) components. In recordings from 30 WKY and 30 SHR vascular cells, total cell calcium current was the same between cells from normotensive (167 +/- 20 pA) and hypertensive (139 +/- 15 pA) rats. However, the relative proportion of T and L calcium currents was different between WKY and SHR cells. In WKY cells, the peak amplitude of the L current was less than that of the T current (42 +/- 30% of total current), whereas in SHR cells, the L current was greater (62 +/- 3% of total current). Calcium currents in vascular muscle cells from SHR were activated and inactivated at more positive potentials than in cells from WKY. This study directly compares transmembrane calcium current in isolated cells from WKY and SHR blood vessels and shows that the proportions of T and L calcium channels activated by depolarization are altered in this genetic model of hypertension.