Know how blood pressure works in the body.
High blood pressure is such a slow poison that it drains a person from the inside. More than half of the adults in the United States suffer from hypertension, while in India this number is over 20 crore. According to a report from the National Family Health Survey, especially 35.6 percent of people between 25 and 54 years old suffer from this problem.
The surprising thing is that even though it is such a serious problem, people do not know about high blood pressure. Actually, blood pressure performs the greatest function in our body, being well indicates that our body is healthy. It is considered normal when our systolic pressure is less than 120 mm Hg and diastolic pressure is less than 80 mm Hg.
What is systolic and diastolic pressure?
Blood pressure has two parts, systolic and diastolic, systolic is the pressure by which blood is pumped out of the heart, that is, it flows from the heart to the arteries, more than 130 mm Hg is considered high BP, while diastolic is the pressure. This is when the heart is relaxed and is preparing for the next pump. A value greater than 90 mm Hg is called high blood pressure.
How does blood pressure work?
The pressure that blood exerts on the walls of the veins after leaving the heart is called pressure. There are two systems in the body to regulate it, one is short-term and the other is long-term, short-term baroreceptor and chemoreceptor. , the job of the baroreceptor is to control our blood. The pressure has to be controlled and the job of the chemoreceptor is to correct its chemical composition. In the long term, the renin angiotensin aldosterone system, i.e. the RAAS, works. This affects more.
How do baroreceptors and chemoreceptors work?
Baro receptor: These are in the walls of our arteries. When blood pressure increases, they send signals to the medulla oblongata of our brain, so the brain slows down the heartbeat and widens the arteries, when blood pressure decreases, they send exactly the opposite signal.
Chemoreceptor: It deals with the chemical composition of our blood, for example, what is the oxygen level, how much carbon dioxide is there. Due to its deficiency, it also sends signals to the medulla oblongata of the brain. When oxygen levels are low, it sends a signal to speed up breathing.
How does the renin angiotensin aldosterone system work?
You must have heard many times that high blood pressure also affects our kidneys, the reason for this is the renin angiotensin aldosterone system i.e. the RAAS, which controls our blood pressure in the long term. It is actually a hormonal system. Actually, there is an adrenal gland in our kidney that secretes the hormone highsterone, its function is to retain sodium, that is, salt and water in our body.
In reality, there are juxtaglomerular cells in the kidney that secrete the enzyme renin. This happens when our blood pressure is low or there is a lack of salt in the blood. Renin converts the enzyme angiotensinogen released by the liver to angiotensin-1. After this, another hormone ACE present in the lungs and arteries converts it to angiotensin-2. This increases blood pressure by shrinking blood vessels.
The most important in this process is angiotensin, which enters the nervous system of our brain and releases the hormone vasopressin from the back of the pituitary in the brain, so we feel thirsty. When the system is disturbed, it works without the need of the body and blood pressure begins to increase.
If the RAAS is disturbed, then diseases surround it.
If the RAAS becomes overactive, it can lead to serious diseases such as high blood pressure, heart failure, kidney and edema, and even if it does not function properly, serious problems can occur. The main reason for this is chronic kidney disease, heart failure, hypertension and lack or excess of salt. To avoid this, you should follow a low-salt diet. You should exercise regularly and control your weight. This can also be avoided by controlling stress and abstaining from smoking and drinking alcohol.
These diseases can occur due to high blood pressure.
Myocardial infarction: High blood pressure causes narrowing of the arteries, which increases the risk of having a heart attack.
Stroke: A stroke can occur due to blockage or rupture of the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the brain.
Nephropathy: Due to high blood pressure, the arteries surrounding the kidneys become damaged, so they cannot filter blood.
View: Due to high blood pressure, the nerves in the eyes are affected, which affects vision.
