Khan Academy Static

Believe it or not, the arteries are elastic and when they recoil they actually push blood along when the heart is relaxing (diastole). This is known as the windkessel effect and is the same basic principle used by some water guns. Unfortunately, with all the work that the circulatory system has to do, our arteries can become rigid with age. When the arteries get stiff like lead pipes, the problem is quite different then when the arteries actually get clogged up, but just as important.

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