What is Aldosterone?
Aldosterone is a mineralocorticoid hormone, a type of hormone that is essential to life because it regulates the amounts of electrolytes in the body. Aldosterone is secreted by the adrenal cortex and responsible for the reabsorption of sodium into the bloodstream. Aldosterone also stimulates the excretion of potassium. The adrenal cortex, where aldosterone is produced, is part of the adrenal gland. Aldosterone simultaneously regulates sodium and potassium levels, helping to maintain both blood pressure and bodily fluids. If aldosterone levels in the body are out of sync, symptoms can result. High levels of aldosterone can cause high blood pressure, muscle cramps and weakness. Low levels may indicate disease, such as diabetes. Often, aldosterone levels vary between the sexes and may be affected by the amount of sodium in a person’s diet. Women often have significantly higher levels of aldosterone when pregnant. The hormone renin, which is produced by the kidney, helps to regulate the re
The gentleman was 63-years old and had recently moved to central South Dakota. He had previously had a heart attack that damaged 30% of his heart muscle. This left him with a much weaker heart to carry on his normal daily activity. He elected to accept early retirement and move back home to be near family. The physician that previously cared for him had prescribed a medical regiment consisting of: 1. A beta blocker called carvedilol at 12.5 mg twice a day to treat his blood pressure. 2. An ACE inhibitor drug called lisinopril at 20 mg a day to give his heart less work to do and treat his blood pressure. 3. An aspirin 325 mg per day to prevent anther heart attack. 4. A statin drug called simvastatin at 20 mg per day to lower his cholesterol. 5. A drug called spironolactone at 25 mg per day to protect his heart. 6. An exercise program as tolerated with a target of walking 3 miles per day. I complimented the patients previous physician on selecting an excellent program for this gentleman.
Aldosterone is a steroid hormone that’s made in the outside part of the adrenal gland (which is just above the kidney). The adrenal gland has an inner part (the medulla) and an outside part (the cortex), and it’s the outer part of the cortex (the zona glomerulosa) which is used to make aldosterone. Because it’s a steroid hormone, it means that it’s made out of cholesterol, and it fits into the mineralocorticoid family because it effects the way that the body deals with water and salt. In fact, aldosterone is like the grandfather of the mineralocoritcoid family – anything which is similar to aldosterone is considered a mineralocorticoid. Of course, none of that tells you anything remotely interesting about what aldosterone does. Happily, aldosterone is not a dull hormone – there are a number of key things which it does once it’s been thrown into the blood stream, basically acting to control what happens in the kidney. One of the ways that it does this is by activating proteins in the di
Aldosterone belongs to a class of hormones called mineralocorticoids, also produced by the adrenal glands. It helps maintain blood pressure and water and salt balance in the body by helping the kidney retain sodium and excrete potassium. When aldosterone production falls too low, the kidneys are not able to regulate salt and water balance, causing blood volume and blood pressure to drop.
