 High blood pressure, called hypertension by doctors, affects nearly one out of every three Americans. High blood pressure can cause a multitude of serious medical problems. The good news is that there are medications and lifestyle changes that are very effective at treating problems with blood pressure. Damage to the body slows down or stops when blood pressure is brought under control. In order to understand hypertension, it is first necessary to understand what blood pressure is and how it occurs. The body's tissues depend on nourishment from the blood in order to survive. Blood circulates to all body tissues through a network of blood vessels and organs known as the circulatory system. The blood is entirely contained by the circulatory system. It stays within the various vessels, arteries and organs (the lungs and heart) comprising the circulatory system and fills the space within that system pretty much completely. Blood does not move through the circulatory system by itself. Rather, it is forced through the circulatory system by the heart. The force of the heart's muscular contractions exert pressure onto the blood, forcing it to flow through the blood vessels. The blood vessel walls contain the force exerted by the heart, pushing back on the blood and providing it only one avenue of forward movement; through the circulatory system in a continual loop. Blood pressure is thus the result of two sets of forces – the force of ... Continue Reading This Article
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