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Chronic High Blood Pressure
The flow of blood declines as the arteries affected by atherosclerosis harden and narrow. The constant flow of blood to the body tissue or organ depends on the proper size of the container. The cross-sectional area of the arteries should be appropriate to allow an adequate volume of blood to reach the targeted sites (Barwell, 2011). An artery affected by atherosclerosis has a significantly small cross-sectional area in comparison to the normal artery. Therefore, the amount of blood reaching the tissues and organs served by the affected arteries will decline significantly. Arteries can suffer partial or complete blockage due to the effects of atherosclerosis. This blockage often leads to conditions such as angina, heart attack or stroke.
The left ventricular afterload refers to the force required within the left ventricular to overcome the vascular resistance to ejection during systole. Atherosclerosis is one of the leading factors that impede ventricular ejection. Other factors that can impede ventricular ejection include damaged heart valves and increased blood viscosity. The narrowing and stiffening of the arteries affected by atherosclerosis cause increased cardiac overload due to the elevation of the systolic blood pressure (Baird, 2015). The affected arteries are considerably sensitive to changes in the afterload because they have a reduced ability to generate the force required to overcome the resistance to ventricular ejection. Therefore, the heart has to exert more effort to maintain the flow of blood through the arteries affected by atherosclerosis. The left ventricular overload increases with the increase in the cardiac work. Some of the strategies that can help to reduce the ventricular afterload include the administration of vasodilation drugs, which enhance the dilating properties of the arteries and improve ventricular ejection.
References
Baird, M. S. (2015). Manual of critical care nursing: nursing interventions and collaborative
management. St. Louis: Elsevier Health Sciences
Barwell, P. (2011). Emergency medical technician transition manual. Burlington, MA: Jones &
Bartlett Learning.
