FIGURE 2.

Pulsatile load modulates the pressure-stiffness relationship. (A) Mean distension of a single cycle (100 ms) of thoracic aorta segments at different pulse pressures. Tracings were downsampled to 5 ms intervals. (B) Diastolic diameter is altered by the applied pulse pressure, as expected due to the nature of the setup. (C) The relationship between compliance, pulse pressure and mean pressure. (D) The pressure-stiffness relationship is modulated by the pulse pressure. At low pulse pressures, the pressure-mediated increase in Ep is significantly augmented, while the inverse is true for increasing pulse pressures. (E) Surface plot representing the mean interpolated data. n = 7. Ep, Peterson’s modulus of elasticity; PP, pulse pressure.