Stiff Arteries Main Cause of High Blood Pressure: Virtual Human Model Reveals

A new study says stiff arteries are the main cause of  high blood pressure.

One of the most common and dangerous condition affecting 1 in 3 U.S. adults or 67 million people is high blood pressure. This is often called a silent killer as it comes with no warning signs or symptoms and most people are unaware that they have high blood pressure.  Though this age related condition affects over a billion people globally making them vulnerable to heart failure, stroke and kidney disease, the health care specialists fail to explain the cause in almost 90 percent of the cases.

In a new study, researchers at Norwegian University of LifeScience reveal that based on a computer model of a 'virtual human', it is evident that stiff arteries are the main cause of hypertension.

"Our results suggest that arterial stiffness represents a major therapeutic target. This is contrary to existing models, which typically explain high blood pressure in terms of defective kidney function," says Klas Pettersen, a researcher at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and first author of the study.

When the blood from the heart travels down the aorta, a distinct group of cells present in the aortic wall called baroreceptors, sense the pressure that develops in the aortic walls and signal the nervous system.  In case of hypertension, the cells emit stronger signals and the body manages to lower the blood pressure. But if the aorta gets stiffer, which mostly happens with age, it fails to sense the pressure.  And when there is an increase in the blood pressure, the baroreceptors in turn fail to signal the nervous system and the body does not get the intimation to lower the blood pressure.

"With the stiffening of the wall that follows aging, these sensors become less able to send signals that reflect the actual blood pressure. Our mathematical model predicts the quantitative effects of this process on blood pressure," says Pettersen.

Using current experimental data and models of aging of human aorta, the researchers show how an age-stiffened aorta fails to inform the nervous system of the blood pressure in time.

 To verify this, the researchers compared the data gathered from the Nord-Trondelag Health Study that included details of 74,000 people with blood sample of 65,000 people.

Through this the researchers show how using a mathematical model a complex human disease can be studied and improved treatment strategies can also be developed.

"If our hypothesis is proven right, arterial stiffness and baroreceptor signaling will become hotspot targets for the treatment of high blood pressure and the development of new medicines and medical devices," says Stig W. Omholt from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, who was the senior investigator of the research project.

The finding was documented in PLOS Computational Biology.