Understanding the Silent Killer
Uncontrolled high blood pressure, hypertension, is one of the leading causes of disability or death due to stroke, heart attack, heart failure and kidney failure. High blood pressure has been described as "the silent killer" because it often occurs without symptoms. Headaches, blurred vision, nosebleeds, or dizziness may occur, but these symptoms are not specific to high blood pressure. Everybody has, and needs blood pressure. Without it, blood cannot circulate through the body. And without circulating blood, vital organs cannot get the oxygen and food that they need to work. So it's important to know the role of blood pressure, and the organs and systems that help regulate it.The explanation of blood pressure begins with the cardiovascular system, the system responsible for circulating blood through the heart and blood vessels. When the heart beats, a surge of blood is released from the left ventricle, which is the heart's main pumping chamber, into an intricate web of blood vessels that spread throughout the body. The arteries are the blood vessels that carry nutrients and oxygenated blood from the heart to the body's tissues and organs. The largest artery, aorta, is connected to the left ventricle and serves a
Blood pressure is the force that's exerted on the artery walls as blood passes through. Mayo Clinic on High Blood Pressure; 1999 Mayo Clinic Research and Development2. The more "elastic" the arteries are, the less resistant they are to the flow of blood and the less force exerted on their walls. (1)The kidneys regulate the volume of water circulating in the body and the amount of sodium the body contains. The capillaries exchange nutrients and fresh oxygen from the arterioles for carbon dioxide and other waste products produced by our cells. The harder the heart muscle has to work to release blood, the greater the force exerted on the arteries. Epinephrine is released during high periods of stress or tension. Combined, these numbers give a picture of how hard the heart is working to get blood to the tissues in the body. Other waste products are removed as blood passes through the kidneys. When arteries lose their "elasticity" or become narrowed, resistance to blood flow increases and additional force is needed to push blood through the vessels. This "used" blood is sent back to the heart through a system of blood vessels called veins. This freshly oxygenated blood is sent back to the heart, ready to begin a new journey. s the main channel for blood leaving the heart. The baroreceptors' job is to monitor the pressure of blood through the arteries and veins.
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