Angiotensin-converting enzyme

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is like a superhero in our body. Its job is to turn a harmless substance called angiotensin I into a stronger and more powerful substance called angiotensin II. When this happens, it can cause our blood vessels to become smaller, which increases our blood pressure.

Imagine you have a balloon in each of your hands, and you blow air into them. The balloon will stretch and become bigger. This is kind of like what happens to our blood vessels when angiotensin II is produced by ACE. When our blood vessels get smaller, the heart has to work harder to push blood around our body, resulting in high blood pressure.

ACE also helps our kidneys to control the balance of fluids and salts in our body. It does this by breaking down another substance called bradykinin, which can increase blood flow and relax our blood vessels. When ACE breaks down bradykinin, it can lead to some side effects like coughing.

So, ACE is an enzyme that converts angiotensin I to angiotensin II, which can increase our blood pressure, and it also helps to balance the fluids and salts in our body by breaking down bradykinin.