If a patient's cardiac output suddenly doubles during exercise, which physiological adjustment best explains why their mean arterial pressure (MAP) does NOT double as well?

💡 Explanation

Mean arterial pressure is a product of cardiac output and total peripheral resistance. Because the MAP does not double despite a doubling of cardiac output, total peripheral resistance must decrease via vasodilation to compensate; therefore, the MAP increase is blunted, rather than remaining proportional to the change in cardiac output.

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