How does potassium balance out sodium in maintaining a person’s blood pressure? I’ve read that it has something to do with osmosis across the cell membrane.
In: Biology
This is very complicated. Blood pressure is controlled by a multitude of measures. One way is the amount of water in the blood. This is controlled by the kidneys. In the kidneys, there are many structures called Loops of Henle. These structures are loops, made up of a descending and ascending side. This creates a concentration gradient allowing things to move in and out of the loop easier. If sodium is absorbed from the loops into the bloodstream, water will come with it and increase blood pressure, and if sodium is released into the loop blood pressure will release.
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