#HighBloodPressure #hypertension #HeartFailure MEDICAL ANIMATION TRANSCRIPT: The cardiac cycle consists of the sequence of events in the heart through one complete heartbeat. The cardiac cycle begins with systole when the ventricles of the heart contract, squeezing the blood out of the heart into the arteries. Diastole completes the cardiac cycle as the ventricles relax and fill with blood. Blood pressure is a measure of the force exerted by pumped blood on the walls of arteries. Blood pressure is higher during systole and lower as the arteries relax during diastole. Normal systolic blood pressure should be below 120, and diastolic pressure below 80. High blood pressure or hypertension is chronic elevated blood pressure. Hypertension is associated with the following risk factors - age, ethnicity, genetic factors, obesity, smoking, excessive salt consumption, and alcohol, sedentary lifestyle, stress, and chronic conditions, such as high cholesterol, diabetes, and kidney disease. These factors all contribute to an increased stiffness or resistance in the peripheral arteries throughout the body. This increased resistance causes increased blood pressure the heart must push against. As the heart works harder, its walls thicken, causing the volume of the ventricles to decrease. With each cardiac cycle, the heart ejects less blood. The brain recognizes this and signals to the heart to pump faster, eventually leading to heart failure and damage to other organs, such as the brain and the kidneys. Treatments for hypertension include lifestyle changes and drug therapy. Lifestyle changes include losing weight, regular exercise, reducing salt and sugar intake, eating a low-fat, high-fiber diet, stopping smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, and stress management. Drug therapy is intended to reduce blood volume or relax blood vessels, both of which decrease blood pressure. Antihypertensive drugs include diuretics, which rid the body of extra water and salt; beta blockers, which block the effects of adrenaline and ease the heart's pumping action; angiotensin receptor blockers or ARBs, which block angiotensin, a protein that causes arteries to narrow; angiotensin-converting enzyme or ACE inhibitors, which reduce production of angiotensin; and calcium channel blockers or CCBs, which relax blood vessels, letting blood flow more easily and, thereby, lowering blood pressure. ANM11025 Sign up to download this and other animations for free to use in your educational, non-commercial project: https://nmal.nucleusmedicalmedia.com/free-medical-images-animations-nmal-landing.php Visit our website to learn more about using Nucleus content for patient engagement and content marketing: http://www.nucleushealth.com/