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Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure of circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. Most of this pressure results from the heart pumping blood through the circulatory system. When used without qualification, the term "blood pressure" refers to the pressure in a brachial artery, where it is most commonly measured.
A diagram explaining factors affecting arterial pressure. Pathophysiology is a study which explains the function of the body as it relates to diseases and conditions. The pathophysiology of hypertension is an area which attempts to explain mechanistically the causes of hypertension, which is a chronic disease characterized by elevation of blood pressure.
In terms of environmental factors, dietary salt intake is the leading risk factor in the development of hypertension. [7] Salt sensitivity is characterized by an increase in blood pressure with an increase in dietary salt and is associated with various genetic, demographic, and physiological factors— African American populations, postmenopausal women, and older individuals carry a higher ...
Blood pressure is measured with two numbers, measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). The first number — the top number — is your systolic blood pressure. This is the pressure of your blood ...
Multiple blood pressure readings (at least two) spaced 1–2 minutes apart should be obtained to ensure accuracy. [92] Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring over 12 to 24 hours is the most accurate method to confirm the diagnosis. [93] An exception to this is those with very high blood pressure readings especially when there is poor organ ...
An increase in sensed pressure results in an increased rate of firing by the baroreceptors and a negative feedback response, lowering systemic arterial pressure. Aldosterone release causes sodium and water retention, which causes increased blood volume, and a subsequent increase in blood pressure, which is sensed by the baroreceptors. [39]
As with most other capillary beds in the body, the constriction of afferent arterioles increases the arteriolar resistance, raising systemic arterial blood pressure and decreasing the blood flow. However, the kidneys must continue to filter enough blood despite this drop in blood flow, necessitating mechanisms to keep glomerular blood pressure up.
The baroreceptors can identify the changes in both the average blood pressure or the rate of change in pressure with each arterial pulse. Action potentials triggered in the baroreceptor ending are then directly conducted to the brainstem where central terminations (synapses) transmit this information to neurons within the solitary nucleus [ 6 ...