Newpharmablog. Health News

Changes in blood pressure are orchestrated by the nervous system. Baroreceptors, specialized receptors in the aorta and arteries of the neck and thorax, send messages to the brain when modifications in blood pressure need to be made. This in turn signals changes in the rate and force of the contractions of the heart and in the diameter of the blood vessels. The vasomotor center located in the brain stem, the oldest area of your brain and the part that is responsible for the most basic needs of life, controls blood pressure. But other centers in the brain play a role as well, particularly when stress is involved.You probably know from personal experience that your blood pressure rises during periods of stress. When you are scared or anxious or feel threatened in any way, your body automatically kicks into what is called the stress response. The stress response is a natural survival tool and a carryover from the days when most of the threats humans faced were physical. Meeting up with a hostile, club-wielding tribe or a saber-tooth tiger required a “fight-or-flight” response, and our bodies immediately readied for action. Although few of our modern stressors – traffic jams, deadlines, disagreements with coworkers or family members, and the like – can be solved by running away or duking it out our bodies nevertheless respond in the same manner.During the stress response an area of the brain called the hypothalamus signals the pituitary gland to release a hormone that activates the adrenal glands. The adrenal churns out the stress hormones epinephrine (also called adrenaline) and norepinephrine (or noradrenaline). These chemical messengers stimulate beta and alpha receptors in the heart and blood vessels. Your heart rate becomes faster and more intense, and blood vessels constrict to direct blood to your muscles, so you’ll be able to run faster and fight harder. Digestion slows down as blood is transported away from the stomach, and you receive an extra burst of blood sugar for additional energy. Your brain and senses are alert and responsive. This is an automatic response, carried out by the autonomic nervous system, which manages your body’s involuntary functions. But it also temporarily raises blood pressure by increasing cardiac output and resistance on the blood vessels. So you can see how repeated stress contributes to consistently elevated blood pressure. Chronic stress is very damaging to systems throughout your body. Over time, it depletes your body of magnesium, potassium, and other essential nutrients, which further contributes to hypertension. *15/313/5*

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. This entry was posted on Thursday, July 21st, 2011 at 11:29 am and is filed under Cardio & Blood- Сholesterol. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.