What is the upper number created each time the heart beats?

• A. Systolic pressure
• B. Diastolic pressure
• C. Mean arterial pressure
• D. Pulse pressure

Answer: (A)

Systolic pressure is the arterial pressure during the heart’s contraction, when the ventricles pump blood into the arteries. This peak pressure is what you see as the upper number on a blood pressure reading. The lower number is diastolic pressure, the pressure when the heart is resting between beats. Mean arterial pressure is an average pressure in the arteries over the whole cardiac cycle, not the peak, and pulse pressure is the difference between the systolic and diastolic values. So, the upper number created with each heartbeat is systolic pressure. For example, in a reading like 120/80 mmHg, 120 represents the systolic pressure.