Understanding Blood Flow & Pressure | Part 1
To get a grasp on hypertension, why it happens, and how to treat it...we need to completely reframe our understanding of the circulatory system.
Circulatory Physiology
The biophysics of the circulatory system has fascinated me since before medical school. It may be that early exposure to biophysics planted a seed of curiosity that continues to flourish to this day.
Circulation is far more fascinating than the mainstream medical paradigm lets on.
Even for radiologists, it is one of the few systems of the body which we need to assess in 4 dimensions - that is to say, across time.
Most of radiology takes pictures of the body which are snapshots in time. Cardiac and vascular imaging on the other hand, require assessment of function across time. This is why we employ ultrasound and flow-related imaging techniques. This is a good starting point for diagnosis. But, it is nowhere near enough.
The circulatory system is a hyper-dynamic and infinitely complex interplay of Newtonian biomechanical factors, organ function, electrophysiology, and light signaling.
Now, I could spend precious writing real-estate going over the bunk model of circulation that is taught to doctors…or, we could dive right into re-building a more robust understanding.
I’m going to go with the latter, and I hope in the process you will see why it is the superior framework. We will discuss the following:
What is blood?
How does blood flow?
Why does blood flow?
In Part 2 of this series, we will discuss implications for how and why people develop high blood pressure, and how this robust understanding informs the most effective way to treat hypertension.
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