How does blood pressure work, why does it go up or down?

You must have heard about high and low blood pressure. These days, this is not only seen in the elderly but also the youth. So let's know how it works.

It measures the force with which your heart pumps blood to the rest of your body. When your heart beats, it pumps blood into your arteries; these arteries carry oxygen and nutrients to all parts of your body.

Blood pressure is measured as two numbers, such as 120/80. The first number (120) represents systolic pressure, which is the higher level of blood pressure when your heart beats. The second number (80) represents diastolic pressure, which is the lower level of blood pressure when your heart rests between beats.

Blood pressure is very important to your health. If your blood pressure is too high or too low, it can damage your heart, brain, and other organs.

Now the question arises why does this happen? So when the blood coming out of the heart exerts pressure on the walls of the veins, it is called blood pressure. There are two major systems in the body to control blood pressure: one short-term and the other long-term.

The short-term system includes baroreceptors and chemoreceptors. The main function of baroreceptors is to control blood pressure, while chemoreceptors help correct the balance of chemical elements present in the blood.

On the other hand, in the long term, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) works, which has the greatest effect on blood pressure. This system plays a key role in keeping blood pressure stable and maintaining the body's water and sodium balance.

Both baroreceptors and chemoreceptors work in different ways. While baroreceptors send signals to the medulla oblongata of our brain, chemoreceptors take care of the chemical composition of our blood.

PC:abpnews