Blood pressure Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Blood pressure - Assignment Example 298). Cardiac output refers to the amount of blood the heart can pump with each beat. Cardiac output and blood pressure have direct correlation thus, the more blood the heart can pump, the greater is the cardiac output, leading to increase blood pressure. The same correlation applies to blood volume or the amount of blood in the blood vessels at any given time. Thus, a decrease in blood volume will lead to decrease blood pressure, and vice-versa. Resistance to blood flow is another factor affecting blood pressure and pertains to how hard it is for the blood to flow through the vessels. A narrowed blood pressure will increase the resistance to blood flow leading to increase blood pressure. Likewise, a widened blood vessel will decrease the resistance to blood flow leading to decrease blood pressure. Carterand Lewsen (2005) also identified influencing factors of blood pressure such as age, gender, and race (p. 298). Normal and abnormal blood pressures are determined through systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure readings. Systolic blood pressure is the pressure exerted by blood during heart contraction while diastolic blood pressure is the pressure exerted by blood during heart relaxation (Rosdahland Kowalski, 2008, p. 523). Blood pressure is measured in milimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and the normal blood pressure is