Effects of vasodilation
Septicemia, in general, poses a significant change in the circulation and pressure of blood in any individual. In specific vasodilation occurs due to a reduction in the manifestation of systemic vascular resistance. The drop occurs as a reflex response to resulting hypertension seen as a classic symptom of septic shock. In this reflex, response vasodilation occurs as one of the significant effects of sepsis, leading to increased cardiac output. Cardiac output is often increased due to a reduction in the afterload, which can be affected by the reduced venous return.
Vasodilation in sepsis occurs in cases of sepsis, thereby altering the diameter of the lumen in the blood vessels. The action often changes the afterload, which is denoted as the force at which the ventricles must force blood through the valves and lumens of the vessels (Stoller et al., 2018). in the excerpt, the authors denote that afterload is increased on vasoconstriction and reduced on a reversal. The reduction in afterload during vasodilation is attributed to the fact that resistance is low due to the widened lumen that encourages faster blood flow.
Vasodilation acts to widen the lumen of the blood vessels through the relaxation of the smooth muscles of the blood vessels. The relaxation offers a widened passageway leading to lesser resistance on the blood vessels, thereby reducing the blood pressure (Lin et al., 2019). Majorly vasodilation reduces the resistance experienced on the blood vessels encouraging the flow of blood, albeit at a slower rate that depicts a lower blood pressure. In the event of low blood pressure, the sympathetic nervous system acts to increase nerve activity at the Sinoatrial node that increases the heart rate as well as the force at which blood is pumped.
References
Lin, Q., Zhao, L., Jing, R., Trexler, C., Wang, H., Li, Y., … & Liu, J. (2019). Inositol 1, 4, 5 Trisphosphate Receptors in Endothelial Cells Play an Essential Role in Vasodilation and Blood Pressure Regulation. Journal of the American Heart Association, 8(4), e011704.
Stoller, M., Gloekler, S., Zbinden, R., Tueller, D., Eberli, F., Windecker, S., … & Seiler, C. (2018). Left ventricular afterload reduction by transcatheter aortic valve implantation in severe aortic stenosis and its prompt effects on comprehensive coronary haemodynamics. EuroIntervention., 14(2), 166-173.