Distensibility is a metric of the stiffness of blood vessels. It is defined as
D = d s y s − d d i a s ( p s y s − p d i a s ) d d i a s {\displaystyle D={\frac {d_{sys}-d_{dias}}{(p_{sys}-p_{dias})d_{dias}}}} ,
where d s y s {\displaystyle d_{sys}} and d d i a s {\displaystyle d_{dias}} are the diameter of the vessel in systole and diastole, and p s y s {\displaystyle p_{sys}} and p d i a s {\displaystyle p_{dias}} are the systolic and diastolic blood pressure.[1]