Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Diastole
Introduction
Diastole is the period of time when the heart relaxes after contraction. Ventricular diastole is when the ventricles are relaxing, while atrial diastole is when the atria are relaxing.
Inside the heart
Inside the heart
During ventricular diastole, the pressure in the (left and right) ventricles drops from the peak that it reaches in systole. When the pressure in the left ventricle drops to below the pressure in the left atrium, the mitral valve (bicuspid valve) opens, causing accumulated blood from the atrium to flow into the ventricle.
Inside the arteries
Inside the arteries
The adjective “diastolic” is used to refer to the relaxation of the heart between muscle contractions. It is used to describe portions of the cardiac cycle related to contraction. More typically it is used as one component of measurement of blood pressure. “Diastolic pressure” refers to the lowest pressure within the arterial blood stream occurring during each heart beat. The other component of blood pressure is systolic pressure, which refers to the highest arterial pressure during each heart beat. When stating blood pressure, systole and then diastole is mentioned; for example: 120/80.
External links
External links
da:Diastole de:Diastole it:Diastole nl:Diastole nn:Diastole sv:Diastole
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]