ABSTRACT
Principles of hypertension To adequately treat hypertension, an understanding of its physical and biological mechanisms is important. When I was in medical school we were encouraged to memorize long lists of clinical symptoms and laboratory values that describe various medical illnesses; I referred to them as laundry lists. This didactic mode of study was encouraged and rewarded, but I found it did not adequately teach the principles and mechanisms of medicine. Personally, I nd it difcult to remember random facts unless they are associated with a broader understanding of a process. To assist in my studies, I incorporated these random facts into models to explain medical pathology, a learning technique I still use. The study of blood pressure and hypertension is no different, and a mechanistic understanding of its principles should lead to better treatment. This chapter will describe the fundamentals of blood pressure and hypertension through basic principles of physics and biology. Although this description is not essential to using this text as a tool in treating hypertension, understanding it will facilitate its use and broaden the reader’s perception of blood pressure.
