Why does sodium increase blood pressure while potassium counters the effect??

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Why does sodium increase blood pressure while potassium counters the effect??

In: Biology

2 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Your body relies on something called “osmotic pressure” to move water in and out of cells. Osmotic pressure is created by the attraction between salt ions and water molecules. So water will flow from areas of low sodium content to areas of high sodium content. If you consume a lot of salt the sodium content of your blood increases. This draws moisture out of the cells and into your blood vessels, which in turn increases the pressure your blood is exerting on the vessel walls.

Potassium on the other hand, strongly attracts and bonds with the sodium ions in your blood. This eliminates their pull on water molecules and allows your kidneys to filter out the excess sodium into your urine faster.

Anonymous 0 Comments

The thing is, your body doesn’t allow the sodium to travel alone. Where ever there is sodium, you body pushes in water to kind of wash of that sodium. So if there is high sodium in your blood running through the blood vessels, then your body increases the water content in the blood vessels leading to higher blood pressure.