Pulse pressure is the difference between systolic and diastolic pressures; a widened pulse pressure indicates what?

Pulse pressure is the difference between systolic and diastolic pressures; a widened pulse pressure indicates what?

• A. Low systolic
• B. High diastolic
• C. High systolic relative to diastolic
• D. Low systolic and low diastolic

Answer: (C)

Pulse pressure is the difference between systolic and diastolic pressures. A widened pulse pressure means the systolic pressure is markedly higher than the diastolic pressure—the gap between the two numbers has increased. This often happens when arterial stiffness or high stroke volume raises the systolic number more than the diastolic number, such as with aging, aortic regurgitation, or conditions that increase pulse volume. If diastolic pressure were high or if both numbers were low, the difference would be smaller, not larger. So the situation described by a widened pulse pressure is best captured by high systolic relative to diastolic.

Pulse pressure is the difference between systolic and diastolic pressures. A widened pulse pressure means the systolic pressure is markedly higher than the diastolic pressure—the gap between the two numbers has increased. This often happens when arterial stiffness or high stroke volume raises the systolic number more than the diastolic number, such as with aging, aortic regurgitation, or conditions that increase pulse volume. If diastolic pressure were high or if both numbers were low, the difference would be smaller, not larger. So the situation described by a widened pulse pressure is best captured by high systolic relative to diastolic.