Figure 5:

Proposed mechanism for elastic artery stiffening with vasodilation in older adults. With vasodilation, decreasing smooth muscle tone, vascular smooth muscle supports less mechanical load and the ECM supports more mechanical load. If the ECM is stiffer than the smooth muscle (as is likely the case in older adults), vasodilation shifting load from smooth muscle to the ECM will make the artery stiffer. Figure created with images from Servier Medical Art³⁵.