What Is Angiotensin?
If you have high blood pressure, diabetes or congestive heart failure there is a very strong chance that you are taking an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker medication.
If you are not taking one of these medications and you have type 2 diabetes or have congestive heart failure you may be receiving substandard treatment.
So you may be asking yourself what is angiotensin, and why is it so important.
The primary regulatory organ for your blood pressure and for the resistance level of the tiny arteries just before blood gets to the capillary beds of the body tissues is the kidney.
The kidney recognizes the need for more or less perfusion pressure and sends chemical regulators to the body to raise or lower blood pressure.
Angiotensin 1 is a chemical that is released when the kidney senses a need for more renal perfusion.
By releasing angiotensin 1 it sets in motion a cascade of steps that leads to constriction of the arterioles and thereby increasing the resistance with which the heart pumps.
This in turn raises the pressure in the arteries so that there is increased perfusion pressure in the kidney>This accomplishes the demand of the kidney, but sometimes it is at the detriment of the heart and other organs that can be damaged by the high blood pressure.
The steps involved include conversion of the angiotensin 1 into angiotensin 2 by an enzyme in the lungs called angiotensin converting enzyme.
Angiotensin 2 then binds to a receptor on the arterioles triggering them to constrict and raise peripheral resistance to blood flow which raises blood pressure.
The class of medications called ACE inhibitors blocks, on inhibits, the conversion of angiotensin 1 into angiotensin 2 thereby preventing the elevation of blood pressure caused by angiotensin 2.
A potential side effect of the ACE inhibitors is a dry persistent cough, seemingly because of the process of the ACE inhibitor in the lungs.
The ARB class of medications is a competitive receptor blocker at the arteriole itself.
It blocks access of angiotensin 2 to these receptors hence the name angiotensin receptor blockers.
Because it does not work in the lungs, it rarely has cough as a side effect.
Most of the ACE inhibitors are available as generic medications and many are on the discount drug store $4/ month prescription plans.
As of this time only valsartan is available as a generic ARB, and it has never been as widely used as many of the other ARBs.
Both the ACE inhibitors and the ARBs have similar benefits in most conditions, although there has been more research on the ACE inhibitors than the ARBs overall.
If you are not taking one of these medications and you have type 2 diabetes or have congestive heart failure you may be receiving substandard treatment.
So you may be asking yourself what is angiotensin, and why is it so important.
The primary regulatory organ for your blood pressure and for the resistance level of the tiny arteries just before blood gets to the capillary beds of the body tissues is the kidney.
The kidney recognizes the need for more or less perfusion pressure and sends chemical regulators to the body to raise or lower blood pressure.
Angiotensin 1 is a chemical that is released when the kidney senses a need for more renal perfusion.
By releasing angiotensin 1 it sets in motion a cascade of steps that leads to constriction of the arterioles and thereby increasing the resistance with which the heart pumps.
This in turn raises the pressure in the arteries so that there is increased perfusion pressure in the kidney>This accomplishes the demand of the kidney, but sometimes it is at the detriment of the heart and other organs that can be damaged by the high blood pressure.
The steps involved include conversion of the angiotensin 1 into angiotensin 2 by an enzyme in the lungs called angiotensin converting enzyme.
Angiotensin 2 then binds to a receptor on the arterioles triggering them to constrict and raise peripheral resistance to blood flow which raises blood pressure.
The class of medications called ACE inhibitors blocks, on inhibits, the conversion of angiotensin 1 into angiotensin 2 thereby preventing the elevation of blood pressure caused by angiotensin 2.
A potential side effect of the ACE inhibitors is a dry persistent cough, seemingly because of the process of the ACE inhibitor in the lungs.
The ARB class of medications is a competitive receptor blocker at the arteriole itself.
It blocks access of angiotensin 2 to these receptors hence the name angiotensin receptor blockers.
Because it does not work in the lungs, it rarely has cough as a side effect.
Most of the ACE inhibitors are available as generic medications and many are on the discount drug store $4/ month prescription plans.
As of this time only valsartan is available as a generic ARB, and it has never been as widely used as many of the other ARBs.
Both the ACE inhibitors and the ARBs have similar benefits in most conditions, although there has been more research on the ACE inhibitors than the ARBs overall.
