Which statement about diastolic pressure is true?

• A. It measures arterial pressure during ventricular contraction
• B. It measures arterial pressure during atrial systole
• C. It is always higher than systolic pressure
• D. It measures arterial pressure when the left ventricle is refilling

Answer: (D)

Diastolic pressure represents the arterial pressure during ventricular relaxation, when the heart is in diastole and the left ventricle is refilling with blood. Between beats, the arteries stay pressurized due to the elastic recoil of the arterial walls, so this is the minimum pressure in the cardiac cycle. The other statements mix up the phases: ventricular contraction corresponds to systolic pressure, atrial systole isn’t what diastolic pressure is defined by, and diastolic pressure is not always higher than systolic. Therefore, the true description is that diastolic pressure measures arterial pressure when the left ventricle is refilling.