Under pressure

Pressure in your blood vessels helps force nutrient-rich fluid across capillary walls and into tissues. Too high or too low and you could be in trouble, with high blood pressure, for example, leading to strokes and kidney failure¹⁰.

Risk factors for high blood pressure include a sedentary lifestyle, diabetes, smoking and high cholesterol; these are also linked to the poor circulation of peripheral arterial disease.

Varicose Vein

If your veins are under chronic pressure due to blood pooling in the legs through poor circulation, this can lead to venous disease¹¹. Your legs may feel tight and heavy and ache; swelling, varicose veins and leg ulcers may result.

Waste

Carbon dioxide, the waste made during energy production, is carried by the blood to the lungs to be breathed out. Hyperventilating or excessive breath holding are harmful since abnormal carbon dioxide levels alter the acidity of blood, affecting heart and brain function and causing muscle cramps¹².

eXercise

According to the British Heart Foundation, regular exercise can lower your risk of heart and circulatory disease by 35%. Muscles, including the heart, strengthen – and even grow more capillaries – when you lead an active lifestyle.

An A to Z of the Circulatory System

References

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