High blood pressure can significantly impact the ability of your arteries to open and close during blood circulation. If you have a high blood pressure, the surrounding muscles of the artery wall will react by pushing back hard. This causes them to grow bigger, which in turn makes the artery walls thicker. Thicker arteries results in is less space for blood circulation in the body. This condition will raise blood pressure even further. The higher your blood pressure is, the greater the risk that the extra pressure could weaken and burst your artery. However, the narrower the arteries are, the greater the chance of the arteries becoming blocked.
When there is an artery burst or becomes blocked, the parts and organs of the body that gets blood supplies from that artery will be starved of the oxygen and energy it requires and the surrounding cells in the affected area will die. Considering a fatal scenario, if a burst artery supplies blood to a part of the brain, it will result in a stroke. Also, if the burst artery supplies blood to a part of the heart, that area of the heart muscle will die, which will lead to a heart attack.
You can improve your arteries and stay healthy by controlling your blood pressure and by living a healthy lifestyle. Eating healthy will provide your body the required energy and nutrients needed to keep it in great condition. Get active to keep your heart and blood vessels healthy and fit. Majority of the drugs used to manage high blood pressure works by keeping the arteries wider. They act directly on the muscles in the artery wall, or control hormones that influence these muscles.
High blood pressure causes damage to the endothelial cells that line the arteries. When endothelial cells are damaged, they release many factors that involve coagulation, inflammation, growth signals, etc. As a result of the damaged endothelium, white blood cells are more likely to adhere to the lining of the vessels, smooth muscle cells from the vessel wall are signaled to proliferate and migrate to the layer of the wall just under the surface, platelets are more likely to stick to the endothelium, etc. White blood cells and smooth muscle cells in the plaque that is developing can absorb or "eat up" oxidized LDL particules, making them into foam cells, which forms a fatty streak. The fatty streak is the first sign of atherosclerosis that you can see.
ReplyDeleteIn short, the current model of atherosclerosis is based on endothelial cell injury, which can be caused by high blood pressure. This is why hypertension is a risk factor for atherosclerosis.
I've read that if you have had a heart attack, taking L-Arginine supplements will increase your chances of having and dying from another heart attack. But what about people who have not yet had a heart attack, but have the precursors of a heart attack, such as high cholesterol, hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure, etc.? Does supplementing with L-Arginine increase their risk also?
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