What does diastolic pressure represent in the cardiovascular cycle?

Diastolic pressure represents the pressure in the arteries when the heart is relaxed and not actively pumping blood. During the cardiac cycle, the heart goes through two main phases: systole and diastole. Systole is when the heart muscles contract, leading to the ejection of blood into the arteries, while diastole is the phase when the heart muscles are relaxed, allowing the chambers of the heart to fill with blood.

At this relaxed state, the arterial pressure is at its lowest, which is measured as diastolic pressure. It reflects the amount of pressure exerted on the arterial walls when the heart is filling with blood, giving an indication of the minimum pressure in the arteries. Understanding this phase is crucial for monitoring cardiovascular health, as it helps assess the efficiency of the heart in maintaining blood flow and pressure during the time it is not actively pumping.

The other potential answers relate to different phases or aspects of cardiac function that do not accurately define diastolic pressure. For instance, pressure during ventricular contraction refers specifically to systolic pressure, while pressure during blood ejection from the heart aligns with the systolic phase as well. Pressure during valve closure pertains to specific moments in the cardiac cycle but does not capture the essence of