Pulse pressure is the difference between which two arterial pressures?

• A. Systolic and mean arterial
• B. Diastolic and MAP
• C. Systolic and diastolic
• D. Cardiac output and stroke volume

Answer: (C)

Pulse pressure is the pressure change in the arteries with each heartbeat, calculated as systolic pressure minus diastolic pressure. The systolic value is the peak pressure during heart contraction, while the diastolic value is the trough when the heart is resting. Subtracting the diastolic from the systolic gives the pulse pressure. For example, a blood pressure of 120/80 yields a pulse pressure of 40 mm Hg. This value reflects how much pressure the heart generates with each beat and how compliant the arteries are: a wider pulse pressure can indicate a large stroke volume or stiffer arteries, while a narrow pulse pressure can point to low stroke volume or reduced circulating volume. The other options aren’t how pulse pressure is defined—they mix non-pressure values or different pressures, which don’t represent the beat-to-beat arterial pressure difference.