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Pump Action

PART 1 What Determines Your Blood Pressure?

Your blood pressure is determined by how much blood is being pumped, how forcefully your heart is pumping, and how wide (dilated) or narrow (constricted) your arteries are. The greater the amount of blood being pumped and the more constricted your arteries are, the more your blood pressure goes up. READ MORE

Baroreceptors are specialized nerve endings embedded in your arteries that dilate or constrict them as needed. Healthy arteries are elastic and respond easily to the signals from the baroreceptors. But hypertension can cause the arteries to harden and stiffen. Vessels become less able to dilate, and blood pressure goes up.

As arteries become narrower and more constricted, blood flow to the heart and other parts of the body is decreased. LESS

PART 2 When Arteries Stiffen

In a healthy body, arteries are smooth and elastic. But as we grow older, the elastic fibers in the vessel walls are replaced with a stiffer substance, collagen. This makes them less able to expand, increasing blood pressure inside the vessel and possibly leading to hypertension. READ MORE

A vicious cycle can occur when uncontrolled hypertension stresses the arteries’ walls. As a defense against the increased pressure, arteries stiffen their walls still more. This hardening and stiffening of the arteries is called atherosclerosis. The heart has to work harder to pump blood through the vessels, and blood pressure rises even more. LESS