Pathophysiology of High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

1. The Fundamental Formula

BP = Cardiac Output (CO) × Total Peripheral Resistance (TPR)

• Kidney regulation of body fluid and sodium balance
• Local autoregulation of tissue blood flow
• Time-dependent interactions between multiple control systems

• Fuster and Hurst's The Heart, 15th Ed.

2. Renal Mechanisms and Pressure Natriuresis

How it works:

• Rising renal perfusion pressure increases medullary blood flow (less tightly autoregulated than cortical flow), which washes out medullary interstitial NaCl, reducing the osmotic gradient for tubular water reabsorption
• Elevated pressure reduces proximal tubular reabsorption by altering peritubular capillary Starling forces (lower oncotic pressure, higher hydrostatic pressure)

How it breaks down in hypertension:

• In essential hypertension, the pressure-natriuresis curve is shifted rightward - the kidney requires a higher BP set-point to excrete a given sodium load
• This shift can result from: increased renal sympathetic activity, excess angiotensin II, structural nephron loss, reduced nitric oxide generation, or oxidative stress
• Salt sensitivity (BP rises with sodium intake) is present in ~30% of normotensives and ~60% of hypertensives, and is especially prevalent in Black individuals, the elderly, and those with chronic kidney disease (CKD)
• National Kidney Foundation Primer on Kidney Diseases, 8e

3. The Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS)

1. Decreased renal perfusion or sodium delivery → juxtaglomerular cells secrete renin
2. Renin cleaves angiotensinogen → Angiotensin I
3. ACE converts Ang I → Angiotensin II (Ang II)
4. Ang II acts on:
   • Vascular smooth muscle (AT1 receptors): potent vasoconstriction → raises TPR
   • Adrenal cortex: stimulates aldosterone secretion → sodium and water retention → raises CO
   • Renal tubules: directly promotes sodium reabsorption
   • SNS: facilitates norepinephrine release, amplifying sympathetic tone
   • CNS: stimulates thirst and ADH release

4. Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) Activation

• Cardiac: increased heart rate and contractility → raises CO
• Vascular: alpha-1 receptor-mediated vasoconstriction → raises TPR
• Renal: enhanced tubular NaCl reabsorption + increased renin release from juxtaglomerular apparatus → sodium retention

• Fuster and Hurst's The Heart, 15th Ed.

5. Vascular Mechanisms

Endothelial Dysfunction

• Normal endothelium produces nitric oxide (NO) via nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which causes vasodilation and inhibits tubular NaCl reabsorption
• In hypertension, NOS activity is reduced, causing impaired vasodilation and increased peripheral resistance
• Reactive oxygen species (ROS) - especially superoxide (O₂⁻) - inactivate NO by forming peroxynitrite (ONOO⁻), further reducing vasodilatory capacity and promoting oxidative vascular injury

Vascular Remodeling

• Chronic elevated BP triggers hypertrophic remodeling of vessel walls: smooth muscle hypertrophy, increased wall-to-lumen ratio
• Capillary rarefaction (reduced capillary density) occurs in tissues, raising TPR structurally
• The autoregulatory curve shifts rightward in chronic hypertension, meaning lower BPs are now required to maintain adequate perfusion - rapid BP lowering can cause ischemia

Endothelin

• Produced by vascular endothelium and collecting tubules
• ET-A receptors mediate vasoconstriction; ET-B receptors promote NO release and natriuresis
• ET-A overactivation contributes to increased SVR, especially in volume-expanded and CKD-related hypertension
• National Kidney Foundation Primer on Kidney Diseases, 8e; Fuster and Hurst's The Heart, 15th Ed.

6. Blood Flow Autoregulation in Hypertension

• Myogenic response: vessels constrict when stretched by high pressure
• Metabolic response: vasodilation in response to local hypoxia/CO₂ accumulation

Rightward shift of the autoregulation curve in chronic hypertension (red) vs normal (blue). Fuster & Hurst's The Heart, 15th Ed.

7. Hormonal & Humoral Modulators

• National Kidney Foundation Primer on Kidney Diseases, 8e

8. Obesity-Hypertension Nexus

1. Renal compression by perirenal fat → impaired pressure natriuresis
2. SNS activation via leptin hypersecretion
3. RAAS activation (adipose tissue expresses local renin-angiotensin components)
4. Insulin resistance/hyperinsulinemia → promotes tubular sodium reabsorption and SNS activity
5. Obstructive sleep apnea (common in obesity) → intermittent hypoxia → SNS surges → sustained daytime hypertension

9. Genetic Causes (Secondary/Monogenic)

• Fuster and Hurst's The Heart, 15th Ed.

10. Hypertension in CKD (Vicious Cycle)

• Nephron loss → reduced natriuretic capacity → salt sensitivity and volume expansion
• Volume expansion → higher BP → further glomerular hypertension and injury
• Injured glomeruli → additional nephron loss → worsening hypertension
• CKD also: increases endothelin, reduces NO (via ADMA accumulation), amplifies SNS discharge via abnormal afferent renal nerve signals, and promotes oxidative stress

Summary: Integrated Pathophysiology

Genetic predisposition + environmental factors (obesity, excess salt, sedentary lifestyle)
        ↓
Impaired pressure-natriuresis (kidney set-point shifted rightward)
        ↓
Sodium and water retention → ↑ blood volume → ↑ CO
        ↓                              
↑ Ang II, SNS activation, endothelin
        ↓
Vasoconstriction + vascular remodeling → ↑ TPR
        ↓
Endothelial dysfunction (↓ NO, ↑ ROS) → further ↑ TPR
        ↓
SUSTAINED HYPERTENSION
        ↓
Target-organ damage: LVH, nephrosclerosis, atherosclerosis, stroke