State variable approach to the analysis of neural control of long term blood pressure dynamics

Abstract

AbstractThe causal role of abnormal arterial blood pressure regulation in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases is well established. The aim of this work is to investigate whether, and to what extent, the complex interactions between autonomic nervous control and cardiovascular systems contribute to the dynamics of long term blood pressure regulation. This paper demonstrates how a simple state variable model can be used to provide guidance concerning the mechanisms involved, which is useful for the study of parametric changes in hypertensive situations. Thus, a third‐order linear state space representation has been developed for the analysis of system properties, such as Eigenvalues, stability, and dynamic behaviour of the cardiovascular‐renal system. The closed‐loop poles of the system under normal and pathological conditions have been evaluated through the root locus technique, which presents applications for sensitivity study and anticipated responses. The simulation results show that the magnitudes and shapes of the variables for the developed model are in good agreement with those of the actual nonlinear model under specific pathophysiological conditions. Therefore, we suggest that the system theory techniques facilitate new insights into the mechanisms involved in the functional status of cardiovascular regulation, leading to useful predictions and clinical applications.Copyright © 2010 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society