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What is defined as the outward force exerted by the blood on the vessel walls?

  1. Blood flow

  2. Blood pressure

  3. Heart rate

  4. Cardiac output

The correct answer is: Blood pressure

Blood pressure refers to the outward force that blood exerts on the walls of blood vessels as it flows through them. It is a critical measure in assessing cardiovascular health, as it reflects the amount of force that the heart generates to pump blood throughout the body. Understanding blood pressure involves recognizing both systolic pressure, which occurs when the heart beats and blood is pushed into the arteries, and diastolic pressure, which happens when the heart is at rest between beats. Maintaining healthy blood pressure is essential for ensuring that all body tissues receive adequate blood supply and nutrients. In contrast, blood flow relates to the volume of blood moving through a vessel or the circulatory system per unit time, which is influenced by blood pressure but is not the same concept. Heart rate refers specifically to the number of heartbeats per minute and indicates how frequently the heart is pumping. Cardiac output is the total volume of blood the heart pumps per minute and is a product of heart rate and stroke volume (the amount of blood pumped with each beat), tying into how efficiently the heart is functioning but not focusing on the force exerted on vessel walls.