Vasodilators are medications that open (dilate) blood vessels. They affect the muscles in the walls of the arteries and veins, preventing the muscles from tightening and the walls from narrowing. As a result, blood flows more easily through the vessels. The heart doesn't have to pump as hard, reducing blood pressure.
Direct vasodilators directly affect the muscle cells that line your blood vessels. They make your muscle cells relax so that blood vessels open. Because they work quickly, they can cause more side effects. Healthcare providers use direct vasodilators when other treatments haven't worked.
One of these, in particular, vitamin B3, can help people improve blood circulation. Also called niacin, B3 reduces inflammation and bad cholesterol. The vitamin is also important for increasing blood vessel function. Leafy green vegetables such as kale and spinach are good sources of vitamin B nutrients.
Leafy greens like spinach and collard greens are high in nitrates, which your body converts into nitric oxide, a potent vasodilator ( 33 ). Eating nitrate-rich foods may help improve circulation by dilating blood vessels, allowing your blood to flow more easily.
CGRP: a novel neuropeptide from the calcitonin gene is the most potent vasodilator known.
Magnesium also dilated endothelium-impaired vessels as well as vessels preconstricted with spasmogenic agonists. These results provide a fundamental background for the clinical use of magnesium, especially in treatment against delayed cerebral ischemia or vasospasm following SAH.
People with vein health issues
Vitamin D helps to keep your arteries and blood vessels loose enough and relaxed enough to support proper blood flow. Thus, when vitamin D levels are low, your veins will struggle to do their job properly, and vein issues may arise.
Angioplasty uses a medical "balloon" to widen blocked arteries. The balloon presses against the inside wall of the artery to open the space and improve blood flow. A metal stent is often placed across the artery wall to keep the artery from narrowing again.
Staying hydrated helps circulation by improving blood flow throughout the body. Warm water is particularly beneficial as it encourages the veins to expand, thus allowing more room for blood to flow. Chilled water, on the other hand, may cause the veins to close up.
Although we're not sure where this claim originated from, we do know there is no scientific evidence proving apple cider vinegar clears clogged arteries. In fact, vinegar should not be substituted for standard treatment.
Exercising muscles need more blood. And in response to regular exercise, they actually grow more blood vessels by expanding the network of capillaries. In turn, muscle cells boost levels of the enzymes that allow them to use oxygen to generate energy.
Vitamin C can be found in citrus fruits, potatoes, berries, broccoli and more. Vitamin E softens and allows the widening of already stressed veins giving more room for blood flow. This vitamin improves circulation by protecting platelets from sticking to blood vessel walls.
Vitamin C doesn't lower cholesterol levels or reduce the overall risk of heart attack, but evidence suggests it may help protect arteries against damage. Some studies -- though not all -- suggest that vitamin C can slow down the progression of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).
At first, c vitamins boost nitrous oxide production in your blood vessels. That leads to vasodilation, when your blood vessels relax. After vasodilation, blood flows with greater ease. And that can lower your blood pressure.
Some drugs used to treat hypertension, such as calcium channel blockers also dilate blood vessels. But the vasodilators that work directly on the vessel walls are hydralazine and minoxidil.
Nitric oxide is produced by nearly every type of cell in the human body and one of the most important molecules for blood vessel health. It's a vasodilator, meaning it relaxes the inner muscles of your blood vessels, causing the vessels to widen. In this way, nitric oxide increases blood flow and lowers blood pressure.
Conclusions: Vitamin C is a potent acute vasodilator in both smokers and nonsmokers and is superior to diltiazem in preoperative coronary patients who need protection from vasospasm of the radial conduit.
Thyme contains powerful compounds, such as rosmarinic acid, that appear to help relax blood vessels in animal studies.
Curcumin is also a potent anti-inflammatory, it helps lower blood cholesterol, and it has anti-clotting properties. Curcumin helps keep blood vessels healthy by protecting cells from damage, thereby allowing a smoother flow of blood. Curcumin can also dilate arteries.
Ibuprofen had coronary arterial vasodilatory activity. An arterial concentration of 50 microgram/ml produced a half-maximal coronary vasodilator response. An ibuprofen concentration of 140 microgram/ml produced a coronary vasodilation, equal to that caused by hypoxia.
In daily caffeine users, caffeine has less of an effect on brain activation and blood vessel constriction, and caffeine withdrawal is associated with a significant increase in brain blood flow associated with blood vessel dilation.