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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.
When vasodilation causes systolic blood pressure to fall below 90 mmHg, circulatory shock is observed. [11] Vascular resistance depends on several factors, including the length of the vessel, the viscosity of blood (determined by hematocrit) and the diameter of the blood vessel. [18]
Paroxysmal hypertension is episodic and volatile high blood pressure, which may be due to stress of any sort, or from a pheochromocytoma, a type of tumor involving the adrenal medulla. [citation needed]
In the arterioles blood pressure is lower than in the major arteries. This is due to bifurcations, which cause a drop in pressure. The more bifurcations, the higher the total cross-sectional area, therefore the pressure across the surface drops. This is why [citation needed] the arterioles have the highest pressure-drop. The pressure drop of ...
Blood viscosity is a measure of the resistance of blood to flow. It can also be described as the thickness and stickiness of blood. This biophysical property makes it a critical determinant of friction against the vessel walls, the rate of venous return, the work required for the heart to pump blood, and how much oxygen is transported to tissues and organs.
Blood pressure varies over longer time periods (months to years) and this variability predicts adverse outcomes. [18] Blood pressure also changes in response to temperature, noise, emotional stress, consumption of food or liquid, dietary factors, physical activity, changes in posture (such as standing-up), drugs, and disease. [19]
The up and down fluctuation of the arterial blood pressure is due to the pulsatile nature of the cardiac output and determined by the interaction of the stroke volume versus the volume and elasticity of the major arteries. The decreased velocity of flow in the capillaries increases the blood pressure, due to Bernoulli's principle.
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. [11] High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. [1]