Certified Medical Assistant Practice Exam

The correct choice is systolic pressure, which refers to the blood pressure in the arteries when the heart muscle contracts and pumps blood out of the heart. During this contraction phase, the pressure rises and is measured as systolic pressure.

Understanding blood pressure involves two key phases of the cardiac cycle. Systolic pressure is specifically about the force of blood in the arteries during the heart's contraction, providing an important measure of cardiovascular health.

Other terms like diastolic pressure refer to the pressure in the arteries when the heart is at rest between beats, while pulse pressure is the difference between systolic and diastolic pressures. Mean arterial pressure, on the other hand, is a calculation that takes into account both systolic and diastolic pressures, but does not specifically address the pressure during contraction. Systolic pressure is a critical measurement as it reflects the strength of the heart's contractions and the condition of the arterial system during active blood flow.