Patient Care Technician (PCT) AAH Practice Exam

When is systolic blood pressure measured?

1. During heart relaxation

2. During heart contraction

3. When the blood flow is minimal

4. When the patient is at rest

The correct answer is: During heart contraction

Systolic blood pressure is measured during heart contraction. This phase occurs when the heart's ventricles contract, pumping blood out of the heart and into the arteries. The pressure exerted against the walls of the arteries at this time is referred to as systolic blood pressure. It represents the maximum pressure exerted in the arteries during the heartbeat. Other options refer to different aspects of the cardiac cycle or states of the patient. The heart relaxation phase corresponds to diastolic blood pressure, when the heart is filling with blood and the pressure in the arteries is at its lowest. Minimal blood flow would not apply to a measurement of systolic pressure, as systolic reading reflects active blood flow during contraction. Lastly, while measuring blood pressure is often performed when a patient is at rest, this doesn’t define systolic pressure specifically; it can be measured under various conditions. Thus, the essential connection is directly linked to the heart’s contraction phase.