Clinical Review
ABC of hypertension
The pathophysiology of hypertension
Cite this as:
BMJ
2001;322:912.1
- Obesity (public health)
More topics 
Fewer topics
- Gareth Beevers,
- Gregory Y H Lip,
- Eoin O'Brien
There is still much uncertainty about the pathophysiology of hypertension. A small number of patients (between 2% and 5%) have an underlying renal or adrenal disease as the cause for their raised blood pressure. In the remainder, however, no clear single identifiable cause is found and their condition is labelled “essential hypertension”. A number of physiological mechanisms are involved in the maintenance of normal blood pressure, and their derangement may play a part in the development of essential hypertension.
This article has been adapted from the newly published 4th edition of ABC of Hypertension. The book is available from the BMJ bookshop and at http://www.bmjbooks.com/
The relative frequency of primary and secondary hypertension
It is probable that a great many interrelated factors contribute to the raised blood pressure in hypertensive patients, and their relative roles may differ between individuals. Among the factors that have been intensively studied are salt intake, obesity and insulin resistance, the renin-angiotensin system, and the sympathetic nervous system. In the past few years, other factors have been evaluated, including genetics, endothelial dysfunction (as manifested by changes in endothelin and nitric oxide), low birth weight and intrauterine nutrition, and neurovascular anomalies.
Physiological mechanisms involved in development of essential hypertension
Cardiac output
Peripheral resistance
Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system
Autonomic nervous system
Other factors:
Bradykinin
Endothelin
EDRF (endothelial derived relaxing factor) or nitric oxide
ANP (atrial natriuretic peptide)
Ouabain
Cardiac output and peripheral resistance
Maintenance of a normal blood pressure is dependent on the balance between the cardiac output and peripheral vascular resistance. Most patients with essential hypertension have a normal cardiac output but a raised peripheral resistance. Peripheral resistance is determined not by large arteries or the capillaries but by small arterioles, the walls of which contain smooth muscle cells. Contraction of smooth muscle cells is thought to be related to a rise in intracellular calcium concentration, which may explain the vasodilatory …
Sign in
Article access
Article access for 1 day
Purchase this article for £20 $30 €32*
The PDF version can be downloaded as your personal record
Social bookmarking