Vascular resistance  Vascular resistance is the resistance that must be overcome to push blood through the circulatory system and create flow. The resistance offered by the systemic circulation is known as the systemic vascular resistance (SVR) or may sometimes be called by the older term total peripheral resistance (TPR), while the resistance offered by the pulmonary circulation is known as the pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR). Systemic vascular resistance is used in calculations of blood pressure, blood flow, and cardiac function. Vasoconstriction (i.e., decrease in blood vessel diameter) increases SVR, whereas vasodilation (increase in diameter) decreases SVR. Units for measuring vascular resistance are dyn·s·cm−5, pascal seconds per cubic metre (Pa·s/m³) or, for ease of deriving it by pressure (measured in mmHg) and cardiac output (measured in l/min), it can be given in mmHg·min/l. This is numerically equivalent to hybrid resistance units (HRU), also known as Wood units (in honor of Paul Wood, an early pioneer in the field), frequently used by pediatric cardiologists. The conversion between these units is:  formula_1  The basic tenet of calculating resistance is that flow is equal to driving pressure divided by resistance.  where  The systemic vascular resistance can therefore be calculated in units of dyn·s·cm−5 as  where mean arterial pressure is 2/3 of diastolic blood pressure plus 1/3 of systolic blood pressure [or Diastolic + 1/3(Systolic-Diastolic)]. In other words:  Mean arterial pressure is most commonly measured using a sphygmomanometer, and calculating a specialized average between systolic and diastolic blood pressures. Venous pressure, also known as central venous pressure, is measured at the right atrium and is usually very low (normally around 4 mm Hg). As a result, it is sometimes disregarded. The pulmonary vascular resistance can be calculated in units of dyn·s·cm−5 as  where the pressures are measured in units of millimetres of mercury (mmHg) and the cardiac output is measured in units of litres per minute (L/min). The pulmonary artery wedge pressure (also called pulmonary artery occlusion pressure or PAOP) is a measurement in which one of the pulmonary arteries is occluded, and the pressure downstream from the occlusion is measured in order to approximately sample the left atrial pressure.