In: Nursing
How is hydrostatic pressure altered when blood pressure is low?
Hydrostatic pressure is the force exerted by a fluid due to gravitational pull, usually against the wall of the container in which it is located. One form of hydrostatic pressure is blood pressure, the force exerted by blood upon the walls of the blood vessels or the chambers of the heart. Blood pressure may be measured in capillaries and veins, as well as the vessels of the pulmonary circulation. The capillaries are the equivalent of a column shaped container, turned on its side. The pressure that blood exerts in the capillaries is known as blood pressure. The force of hydrostatic pressure means that as bloodmoves along the capillary, fluid moves out through its pores and into the interstitial space. . This movement means that the pressure exerted by the blood will become lower, as the blood moves along the capillary, from the arterial to the venous end. So if the blood pressure dropped, the hydrostatic pressure also fall down.