Perspectives: Microcirculation in hypertension and cardiovascular disease

The microcirculation of terminal vascular beds represents the ‘business end’ of the circulation, which supplies oxygen and nutrients to the tissue, controls inflammation and repair as well as fluid exchange with the tissue.1 The microcirculation comprising vessels ranging from small arteries or arterioles with diameters below 100–300 µm to corresponding venules is also the site of regulation for flow resistance and perfusion.2–4 In relation to hypertension, the establishment and regulation of flow resistance and perfusion is of special importance. The high flow resistance in the arteriolar part of microvascular networks leads to a strong reduction in intravascular pressure, before the blood enters the capillary section of the network. The maintenance of mean arterial pressure (and low capillary pressures) for different functional conditions and with increasing or decreasing tissue mass requires a fine-tuned set of regulatory controls of microvascular flow resistance. Hypertension can be interpreted as the result of an …