A&P Blood Vessels Practice Test 2026 – Comprehensive Exam Prep

When elastic arteries lose their stretch, the windkessel effect that smooths blood pressure is reduced. A stiffer aorta and large arteries can’t recoil as well to maintain pressure during diastole, so systolic pressure tends to rise while diastolic pressure may fall or not increase as much. Since pulse pressure = systolic minus diastolic, this combination broadens the gap between the two, making pulse pressure chronically increased. In other words, arterial stiffness from atherosclerosis leads to a widened pulse pressure, not a decreased or unchanged one.