If you deflate a blood pressure cuff TOO SLOWLY, the reading will be too __________. Why?

When a blood pressure cuff is deflated too slowly, the reading will tend to be falsely elevated, or too high. This occurs because a prolonged time during deflation allows for continued venous congestion. As the cuff pressure decreases gradually, the blood flow can remain restricted longer than necessary, which can lead to an inaccurate reading. The blood flow may not stabilize quickly enough, causing the systolic pressure to register at a higher level than it truly is. The key concept here is that maintaining a cuff pressure that is too high for an extended period can cause the veins to swell and affect the reading, hence resulting in an artificially high measurement of blood pressure.

In contrast, alternative choices relate to reasons that do not apply in this scenario, such as arterial leakage or rapid blood flow affecting readings in a different manner, which is not relevant to the outcome of slow deflation. Thus, the most accurate understanding is that delayed deflation creates conditions conducive to venous congestion, leading to a higher recorded pressure.