EXPORT CITATION

Chapter-23 History of Blood Pressure Amplification between the Heart and Peripheral Arteries

BOOK TITLE: Textbook of Cardiology (A Clinical & Historical Perspective)

Author
1. Rourke MO
2. Adji A
3. Namasivayam M
ISBN
9789350900819
DOI
10.5005/jp/books/12259_23
Edition
1/e
Publishing Year
2013
Pages
7
Author Affiliations
1. University of New South Wales/Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, and St. Vincent’s Clinic, Australia
2. St. Vincent’s Clinic; Australian School of Advanced Medicine, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
3. University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Chapter keywords
blood pressure amplification, hypertension, high arterial tension, microvascular disease, microinfarcts, microbleeds, renal degeneration

Abstract

This chapter discusses history of blood pressure amplification between the heart and peripheral arteries. The pressure wave is amplified in height and changed in shape as it travels from the aorta to peripheral arteries. It is now almost 200 years since Richard bright brought the problem of hypertension into focus by describing from Guy’s Hospital in London a series of clinical cases of patients with high arterial tension, whose clinical course was characterized by cardiac failure, susceptibility to stroke, presence of albumin in urine, and at death and autopsy, showing granular contracted kidneys. Another vicious circle in hypertension begins with microvascular disease that may begin with tissue atrophy and rarefaction in microvessels. Resulting hypertension causes rise in arterial pressure and damage to large blood vessels, especially the aorta. Rise in pressure damages these vessels, contributes to aortic stiffening and early return of wave reflection, and leads to high pulse pressure and high flow pulsations in the small blood vessels of brain and kidney; these high pulsations cause microinfarcts and microbleeds, which are the cause of cerebral and renal degeneration in hypertension and with aging.

Related Books

© 2019 Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) LTD.   |   All Rights Reserved