Sodium Regulation by Atrial Natriuretic Peptide (ANP) – Electrolyte Balance (Nursing)

00:01 So another molecule that's important, for maintaining our sodium balance is Atrial Natriuretic Peptide.

00:09 This is released by the atrial cells in response to stretch that is caused by an increased blood pressure.

00:18 The effective atrial natriuretic peptide is to decrease the blood pressure and blood volume.

00:25 It does this by inhibiting antidiuretic hormone, renin, and aldosterone production.

00:32 It also increases the excretion of salt, and consequently, also water.

00:40 It also promotes vasodilation directly and also decreases the production of angiotensin II, which would normally cause vasoconstriction.

00:53 So if we look at how atrial natriuretic peptide works, what we get is an increase in the stretch of the atria of the heart due to an increase in our blood pressure.

01:07 This causes the release of atrial natriuretic peptide, which then sends signals to the hypothalamus and the posterior pituitary to down regulate antidiuretic hormone release and inhibit the reabsorption of sodium in our collecting ducks of our kidneys.

01:28 Also, the atrial natriuretic peptide is going to target the granular cells of the kidneys, which are going to lead to a decrease in the release of renin.

01:38 And the decrease in the release of renin is going to lead to a decrease in the release of angiotensin which is a vasoconstrictor.

01:47 By doing this, we induce vasodilation.

01:53 So now let's look at how the cardiovascular baroreceptors work and the regulation of our sodium balance.

02:00 The baroreceptors are going to alert the brain to increase blood volume and blood pressure.

02:08 They do this when sympathetic nervous system impulses to the kidneys go down.

02:13 This then causes the afferent arterioles to dilate, which then increases the glomerular filtration rate, which increases the amount of sodium and water output, which then reduces the blood volume and blood pressure.