Arterial Blood Pressure

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Write an essay on the regulation of arterial Blood pressure? Constant and adequate pressure in the arterial system is required to drive blood into all of the organs. Abnormally low blood pressure results in inadequate perfusion of organs, while abnormally high blood pressure can cause heart disease, vascular disease and stroke. Therefore, it is essential that blood pressure be maintained within a narrow range of values that is consistent with the needs of the tissues. MAP = CO x TPR MAP is normally 120/80 Formula for MAP = diastolic pressure + 1/3 (systolic-diastolic) The 4 most important variables affecting arterial blood pressure are: TPR Heart Rate Stroke Volume Viscosity of blood 1 Total Peripheral resistance Resistance of arterioles is important in maintenance of arterial BP Arterioles contain VSM and has the ability to contract and relax Regulated by sympathetic nerve activity Resistance,and its relation to volumetric flow rate (Q) and pressure difference between the two ends of a vessel are described by Poiseuille's Law. 2. Heart Rate The volume of blood flow from the heart is called the cardiac output, which is HR (the rate of contraction) multiplied by the SV (the amount of blood pumped out from the heart with each contraction). The higher the heart rate, the higher the arterial pressure, assuming no reduction in stroke volume 3. Stroke Volume The amount of blood that is present in the body. The more blood present in the body, the higher the rate of blood return to the heart and the resulting cardiac output. There is some relationship between dietary salt intake and increased blood volume, potentially resulting in higher arterial pressure 4. Viscosity If the blood gets thicker, the result is an increase in arterial pressure. Certain medical conditions can change the viscosity of the blood. For instance, low red

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