Control of Blood Pressure - Mechanisms and Treatment

RUNNING HEAD: BP CONTROL 1
CONTROL OF BLOOD PRESSURE
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BP CONTROL 2
Blood pressure control can be a short-term reaction or long-term control. Short-term
control is via the baroreceptor reflex while long-term control is via the renin-angiotensin and
aldosterone system of the kidneys (Moon, 2013).
The baroreceptor reflex is the principle negative feedback mechanism for blood pressure
control (Martini, Nath, & Bartholomew, 2015). It Is negative feedback loop since a stimulus will
trigger processes that lower itself (Sarikas, 2014). The baroreceptors are located in the arch of
the aorta and the carotid sinus and they detect minor changes in blood pressure as they are
pressure sensitive (Waugh & Grant, 2010). They have neural connections to the cardiovascular
centers in the pons and medulla of the brainstem. A rise in blood pressure, for example, is sensed
by these baroreceptors which increase firing input to the cardiovascular centers. The
cardiovascular center, in turn, mediates return to normal pressure by affecting the heart and
blood vessels in order to alter cardiac output and peripheral resistance (Waugh & Grant, 2010).
Other sensors include the chemoreceptors in the aortic and carotid bodies that detect
changes in blood PH, carbon dioxide content in relation to blood pressure status and sending
impulses to the cardiovascular centers to reduce or increase the blood pressure (Waugh & Grant,
2010).
The cardiovascular center increases parasympathetic nervous activity to the heart. This
has the effect of reducing the heart rate and effectively reducing the stroke volume. Both heart
rate and stroke volume affect the cardiac output since it is a product of both, hence reduction will
effectively reduce the cardiac output and subsequently the blood pressure. (Waugh & Grant,
2010).