Final answer:
Compliance in the vascular system refers to the ability of blood vessels to expand in response to increased volume. It is crucial for normal cardiovascular function, with reduced compliance, as seen in arteriosclerosis, leading to significantly increased cardiovascular risks. Calculating compliance involves examining volume changes relative to pressure increases.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Vascular Compliance
Compliance refers to the capacity of the blood vessels within the vascular system to expand and accommodate increased volumes of blood. In simple terms, it is how easily the walls of blood vessels like arteries and veins can stretch and increase in size. Higher compliance allows for better absorption of the pulse pressure wave caused by the heart's contraction, and thus, is protective against cardiovascular damage. Calculating compliance involves measuring how much the volume of a vessel increases for a given increase in blood pressure.
The compliance of the vascular system can be affected by various conditions, with arteriosclerosis being a prime example. In arteriosclerosis, arterial walls stiffen, leading to reduced compliance. This decreases the vessels' ability to expand, causing increased resistance to blood flow. As a result, blood pressure rises and the heart must work harder to pump blood, leading to hypertension and increasing the risk for coronary heart disease.
Precisely calculating compliance can be complex in a living organism, as it would require invasive measurements. However, compliance can be inferentially evaluated from changes in blood pressure and volume changes within the vascular system. When a vessel shows decreased compliance, it would not expand as much under increased pressure, leading to higher blood pressure readings.