Extract:
Hypertension
The term hypertension is used to describe the condition of chronically high blood pressure. People who are obese, experience a lot of stress, smoke tobacco products, have a diet with too much salt in it, or have diabetes are often at a higher risk for hypertension. As well, African Americans are more likely to have hypertension than other population groups.
Hypertension often develops over many years. Older people are most often diagnosed with hypertension. One reason for this is that blood vessels lose elasticity and stiffen as a person ages. This creates more resistance to the blood flowing through the body and elevates blood pressure.
Symptoms of hypertension can include blurred vision, headaches, a buzzing in the ears, fatigue, an irregular heartbeat, and nosebleeds. Hypertension that goes untreated over a period of time can lead to serious complications such as kidney disease, heart disease, loss of vision, heart attack, brain damage, and even early death. Fortunately, treating hypertension reduces blood pressure and can lower the risk of complications.
For many people, losing weight can result in a significant decrease in blood pressure. For others, physicians may prescribe one or more medications to help bring blood pressure down into a safe range.
One thing is certain: physicians believe that people over the age of 20 should monitor their blood pressure by having it checked at least once a year. Those with a history of hypertension in the immediate family should have it checked more frequently.
What does the term elasticity mean, as used in the second paragraph?
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A
Firmness
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B
Compactness
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C
Flexibility
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D
Rigidity
In the context describing aging blood vessels that "lose elasticity and stiffen," elasticity means flexibility—the capacity to stretch and bend without resistance.
A) Firmness
Firmness implies solidity and resistance to deformation—opposite to elasticity's meaning. The passage explicitly contrasts elasticity with stiffness ("lose elasticity and stiffen"), establishing them as opposing states rather than synonyms.
B) Compactness
Compactness describes density or tight packing of material—unrelated to the vessel's ability to expand and contract with blood flow. The context concerns vessel pliability affecting blood resistance, not structural density.
C) Flexibility
Flexibility precisely matches elasticity's physiological meaning: the property allowing blood vessels to expand during systole and recoil during diastole. As vessels age and lose this flexibility, they "stiffen," creating "more resistance to blood flowing through the body"—exactly the cause-effect relationship described.
D) Rigidity
Rigidity means inflexibility or stiffness—the state vessels enter when they lose elasticity. The passage presents rigidity as the consequence of lost elasticity, not its definition.
Conclusion
Contextual analysis reveals elasticity operates in direct opposition to stiffness within the passage's physiological explanation. Only flexibility captures this pliability property enabling vessels to accommodate blood flow without excessive resistance—essential for maintaining healthy blood pressure.