Blood vessels and blood flow are important for health. But do you have a correct understanding of how they work and what they do? Now it’s time to update your vague scientific memory in school. Once you master the knowledge, you can protect yourself!
1. Strong blood vessels is thin and soft
The goal of bodybuilders is thick, plump muscles. But the ideal shape of the blood vessel is the opposite. They should be slim, flexible and flexible.
Why? The heart is located on the left side of the solar plexus and is the driving force for blood circulation . It is a mass of muscle called the heart muscle, an extremely tough pump that works constantly from birth to death. Every time the heart beats "bang", blood will be pumped vigorously into the blood vessels.
'If the blood vessels are flexible, when the blood is pumped out of the heart and the blood flow increases, they will swell and then return to normal as the blood flows to the heart. They are free to accept changes in blood flow as they bend and allow blood flow to flow smoothly' (Dr. Takushi Umezu, Director of Cardiology Medicine at Hoya Kosei Hospital).
When blood vessels become stiff and thick, they cannot cope with the increase and decrease, and blood flow will worsen. Due to lack of exercise, muscles become stiffer as they age, but the blood vessels become stiffer as they age.
connective tissue that constitutes blood vessels consists of two types of fibers: collagen (collagen fibers) and elastin (elastic fibers). The former has rubber-like properties that prevent blood vessels from deforming, while the latter restores the deformed blood vessels to their original shape. Elastic fiber tends to decrease with age, and blood vessels become stiff due to loss of recovery.
2. The inner side of the blood vessel is the most important
. The innermost of the three types of blood vessels is vascular endothelial cell , which is a flat and fragile cell. In fact, these cells are little giants. They play an important role in determining blood flow and blood vessel quality.
The important role of blood is the exchange process, which transports oxygen and nutrients to cells, and receives carbon dioxide and waste. The capillary vascular endothelial cells are responsible for this. For example, in the kidney, blood is filtered, and endothelial cells have small holes to make the exchange process more efficient.
Vascular endothelial cells can also broaden blood vessels and increase blood flow. When blood flow increases, vascular endothelial cells are subject to pressure in the form of shear stress .
Then vascular endothelial cells secrete nitric oxide (NO). This nitric oxide relaxes the smooth muscle of the tunnel medium, enlarging blood vessels and further increasing blood flow. Atherosclerosis accelerates the aging of blood vessels and reduces blood flow, which begins with the deterioration of vascular endothelial cells.
'NO helps reduce arteriosclerosis by broadening blood vessels, reducing blood pressure, and preventing blood clots.
FMD test is an effective way to understand the status of vascular endothelial cells. Compress the arms to stimulate the production of NO in the endothelial cells of the blood vessels and check the blood vessels through ultrasound to see how much they enlarge. If you are worried, do an FMD test at your GP .
3. Arteries, veins and capillaries are manufactured and work very differently
There are three main blood vessel types. They are arteries, veins, and capillaries. Not only do these three types have different names, but they also work and make them completely differently.
First, there is artery. They have a three-layer structure, and the blood flowing through them is called arterial blood .
The innermost part of the three-layer structure is the thin inner membrane composed of vascular endothelial cells and the basement membrane. Surrounding it is a thick inner membrane composed of smooth muscle and the above-mentioned elastic fibers. The outer layer is surrounded and strengthened by an outer membrane composed of connective tissue.
Next is the vein. They return blood from tissue to heart. The blood flowing through these places is called venous blood.
Veins have the same three-layer structure as arteries, but because they do not directly accept pressure from the heart, the walls and outer membranes are thinner than the arteries, and there are fewer smooth muscles and elastic fibers in the walls of the tube.
The biggest feature of veins is that they have valves called venous valves. When the surrounding muscles contract and apply pressure, the valve opens and blood flows in the veins. When the muscles relax and the pressure decreases, the valve closes to prevent venous blood from flowing back.
Finally, there are capillaries. As the name suggests, these are small blood vessels, only one tenth of the thickness of the hair, and they transport blood to individual cells. Capillaries are produced entirely by vascular endothelial cells and the basement membrane.
4. Blood is formed in bone marrow
Where is the blood made? The correct answer is bone marrow. This is a tissue in the middle of the bone. In adults, blood is produced in the vertebrae of the spine, pelvis, ribs, sternum and skull.
Hematopoietic stem cells are hidden in the bone marrow. They make blood cells and components, which is the key to blood operation.
blood cells include red blood cells , white blood cells and platelet , accounting for about 45% of the blood.
Red blood cells carry oxygen to the tissue while receiving carbon dioxide. They live about four months. The total number of cells that make up the human body is about 37 trillion, but the number of red blood cells exceeds half of them - about 20 trillion.
leukocyte is responsible for the immune system's ability to fight external enemies, such as the new coronavirus and cancer. They include neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes (macrophages). Leukemia , also known as "blood cancer", is an abnormality in differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells, leading to infinite proliferation of leukemia cells and other cells.
When activated, platelets produce blood clots and form blood scab to stop bleeding. If the blood clot is stuck in the blood vessels, it can cause heart disease or stroke .
In addition to the blood cell components, about 55% of the blood is liquid components, i.e. plasma, of which 90% is water, and the rest are protein and electrolytes.
The water content in plasma includes carbohydrate and lipids, such as triglyceride and cholesterol , which have a significant impact on blood flow and blood vessel conditions.
5. All blood vessels are connected.
The center of the blood vessel network is the heart. The blood vessels and the heart are called the "vascular system". Its characteristics are that arteries, veins and capillaries are connected.
Pulmonary circulation is the way in which venous blood is sent from the heart to the lungs, absorbing oxygen and sending the arterial blood that excretes carbon dioxide back to the heart. What is more complicated is that the pulmonary artery delivers venous blood from the heart to the lungs, and the pulmonary veins delivers arterial blood from the lungs to the heart.
Systemic circulation refers to the pathway through which oxygen-rich arterial blood obtained from the lungs is transported to the tissues of the whole body through the arteries. In the pulmonary and systemic circulation, capillaries are located between the artery and the vein.
capillary endothelial cells and adjacent cells exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide, nutrients and waste through very thin cell membranes. The total length of blood vessels is about 100,000 kilometers, less than four times the total length of the Japanese railway line, but 90% of them are capillaries.
can do this only because the blood vessels are connected. One of the most important things you can do is to use a thin tube called a catheter to treat blocked arteries.
' catheter is inserted into the body through the artery at the base of the thigh or at the wrist. The arteries become thicker when moving from the periphery to the center, allowing the catheter to reach the affected area, such as the heart or brain.
6. More than 80% of muscles and skin are collected during exercise
People’s impression is that most blood flows vigorously in the arteries. But only about 20% of the arterial blood flows through the arteries; 75% of the venous blood flows through the veins, and the remaining 5% flows through the capillaries.
Let’s take a look at the blood flow distribution of each organ. The blood is basically actively metabolized. More flows in the place and more blood is needed.
The organs with the highest blood flow during rest are the liver and gastrointestinal tract. They together account for about 20-25% of the total. In addition, the kidneys account for 20%, muscles account for 15-20%, brains account for 13-15%, etc.
But during exercise, blood flow increases significantly, and this distribution method has undergone a huge change.
During exercise, blood flow is concentrated on the muscles and skin, playing a major role. It reaches 80-85% of the total.The reason why blood flows to the skin is to stimulate sweating, causing the body to lose the heat of vaporization to reduce the rising body temperature during exercise. Blood flow that is crucial to the brain is maintained, while blood flow to the liver, gastrointestinal tract and kidneys is significantly reduced.
The autonomic nervous system consisting of sympathetic nerve and parasympathetic nerve plays a major role in blood flow distribution. The autonomic nervous system extends to all blood vessels that provide nutrition to the organs.
When sympathetic nervous system dominates, vasoconstricts and blood flow decreases. When the parasympathetic nervous system predominates, blood vessels expand and blood flow increases.
7. Arteriosclerosis begins with blood diseases
There is a golden sentence saying: "Human aging comes from their blood vessels." If blood vessels, i.e. the important infrastructure that transports the blood that fills every cell, is destroyed, then all functions will inevitably deteriorate and age.
Aging of blood vessels = arteriosclerosis. The soft arteries become stiff and thicker, limiting blood flow and making it more susceptible to clogging.
As mentioned above, the connective tissue of blood vessels tends to change and harden with age, but this is expected. What causes sclerosis is arteriosclerosis, which is a phenomenon that "the age of blood vessels" is older than that of individuals.
Atherosclerosis is caused by hypertension , high sugar levels and dyslipidemia . Diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome are also well known.
In the case of hypertension, when strong pressure continues to act on the arteries, the arteries tend to harden to withstand the pressure. High sugar content reduces the function of vascular endothelial cells, which broaden blood vessels and prevent arteriosclerosis. Dyslipidemia also makes cholesterol more likely to accumulate in blood vessels.
This is where atherosclerosis begins, forming an atherobulbar called a plaque.
Obesity caused by overeating and lack of exercise is also a problem. Especially visceral fat obesity, body fat accumulates in visceral organs, causing visceral fat to secrete adverse substances, promoting high blood pressure, high sugar and dyslipidemia.
8. Lifestyle adjustments can rejuvenate blood vessels
Heart disease is the second leading cause of death in Japan, followed by stroke. Both are caused by arteriosclerosis.
When fibrosis of occurs in plaques in the artery, the artery will become hardened, causing the tissue to become hard. If for some reason the contents of the plaque pop up, the platelets will gather to seal the wound and the blood will harden and form a blood clot. If this blocks the arteries, the blood flow will be blocked.
As you age, it is inevitable that blood vessels will become harder to a certain extent, but accidental arteriosclerosis beyond this range should be avoided. It is still important to avoid dysfunction of vascular endothelial cells.
When vascular endothelial cells deteriorate, platelets become more active. Blood clots are more likely to form. If it occurs in the heart, a heart disease is likely to occur; if it occurs in the brain, a stroke is likely to occur.
'If we make the right lifestyle changes, it is possible to restore weakened vascular endothelial cells to normalize and restore arteries to vitality. Once the plaque begins to accumulate, it is difficult to reverse.
induced stress on vascular endothelial cells and promote atherosclerosis are the above mentioned hypertension, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia. Then there is visceral fat type obesity, smoking and drinking.
If you want to protect your blood vessels and blood flow, the only way is to reduce these risks through moderate exercise and a balanced nutritional, calorie-focused diet, and take simple ways to quit smoking and control alcohol.