Which statement about systolic and diastolic blood pressure is accurate?

• A. Systolic BP is peak arterial pressure during ventricular systole; diastolic BP is minimum arterial pressure during ventricular diastole
• B. Systolic BP is the minimum arterial pressure during diastole; diastolic is peak arterial pressure during systole
• C. Systolic BP is the pressure in veins during atrial contraction
• D. Diastolic BP is the arterial pressure during ventricular systole

Answer: (A)

Arterial blood pressure reflects the heart’s pumping cycle, peaking when the heart contracts and dipping when it relaxes. The correct statement captures this: systolic pressure is the highest arterial pressure reached during ventricular systole as the left ventricle ejects blood into the aorta, and diastolic pressure is the lowest arterial pressure that occurs during ventricular diastole when the heart is relaxed and the arteries recoil. This explains why the pressure waveform rises to a peak with each heartbeat and then falls to a minimum between beats.

The other ideas mix up the phases or refer to the wrong vessels: describing systolic pressure as the minimum during diastole is the opposite of what happens; claiming diastolic pressure is the peak during systole reverses the phases; mentioning pressure in veins during atrial contraction talks about venous, not arterial, pressure; and stating diastolic pressure is the arterial pressure during ventricular systole incorrectly assigns diastole to the contraction phase.