Chapter 14: Observations
Skip chapter table of contents and go to main content
Definition
Blood pressure may be defined as the force of blood inside the blood vessels against the vessel walls (Marieb and Hoehn [110]). Systolic pressure is the peak pressure caused by the left ventricle contracting and blood entering the aorta, which causes the aorta to stretch; therefore, systolic pressure in part reflects the function of the left ventricle (Waugh and Grant [207]). Diastolic pressure is caused by the aortic valve closing, blood flowing from the aorta into the smaller vessels and the aorta recoiling back (Marieb and Keller [111]). This is when the aortic pressure is at its lowest and tends to reflect the resistance of the blood vessels (Marieb and Hoehn [110]).