What type of blood pressure is measured when the left ventricle is refilling?

Diastolic blood pressure is the measurement taken when the left ventricle of the heart is refilling with blood. This phase of the cardiac cycle occurs after the heart has contracted and pumped blood into the arteries (systole) and is characterized by the relaxation of the heart muscle. During diastole, the ventricles fill with blood from the atria, and the pressure in the arteries falls, which is what diastolic blood pressure reflects.

Understanding diastolic blood pressure is crucial as it indicates the minimum amount of pressure in the arteries when the heart is at rest between beats, providing insight into the heart's workload and overall cardiovascular health. In contrast, systolic blood pressure measures the peak pressure in the arteries when the ventricles contract, while mean arterial pressure is an average pressure within the arteries throughout the entire cardiac cycle, and pulse pressure is the difference between systolic and diastolic pressures.