Cardiopulmonary Responses to Exercise

Cardiopulmonary Responses to Exercise

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Introduction

            Doctors and physicians recommend exercises because of the array of both inner and outer body results for an individual. Such activities elicit different responses in the interaction between central and peripheral body mechanisms. During the period of exercising and resting, the cardiopulmonary system experiences fluctuations in heart rates and blood pressure depending on the intensity and frequency of the exercises. Differences in heart rates and blood pressure resulting from the body being at rest and the body being in motion or under the influence. These experiments set to find out the changes experienced in the cardiopulmonary system and efforts to show the variations in heart rate and blood pressure for an individual, after exercising and during the resting period.

Procedure or Methods.

The procedure used in these experiments is as described in NTR200003 Physiology in Medical and Health Sciences Laboratory Notes for students SUT 2018. Practical number Five: Cardiopulmonary Responses to Exercise.

Results

            The results of the experiments conducted with different conditions display different cardiopulmonary responses for a variety of exercises. The table and graphs utilize the data to show the various relationships before exercising, during exercise, and while resting. Graphical representation of figures one and two use data from the two tests in experiment one.

Figure 2: Static Exercise Test one graph, showing the exercising heart rates and mean arterial pressures and resting heart rates and MAPs

Figure 2: Static Exercise Test two, a graph showing heart rates and MAPs for exercising and resting under modified conditions.

Figure 3: Table showing data collected from the dynamic exercises of steps and bicep curls.

Figure 4: Graphical representation of the data for dynamic exercises showing heart rates and MAPs.

Discussion

The cardiovascular system controls the flow of oxygen and blood through the blood vessels and the heart. The heart rate during exercising was on a steady rise for the entire three minutes of exercising, suggesting that the beats per minute when the body is exercising increases as the activity progresses. The mean arterial pressure falls drastically and exponentially rises after the first minute of exercise. As Rhodes et al. opine, this variation advises that exertion increases blood pressure and subsequently increases pulse pressure, otherwise known as the mean arterial pressure (Rhodes et al., 2019). From the results in Figure 1, the steady increase of both heart rate and pulse pressure suggests a similar connection between cardiopulmonary experiences and exercise. The stable decrease of both shows a positive relationship between activity and increased heart rate and pulse pressure.

The results in Figure 2 show a similar relationship between exercise, heart rate, and pulse pressure. Constriction of blood flow, however, results in higher blood pressure and, therefore a slight decrease during the rest period. The resting heart rates and mean arterial pressure during resting with the deflated cuff explain the contribution of blood flow constriction, which strains blood vessels and puts them to the task to push blood using more pressure. The results of this test show the collaboration of central and peripheral mechanisms that contribute to the heart rate and strain during static exercise and affect the decrease during resting. Restricted functioning influences circulatory performance resulting in a significant difference in heart rate and blood pressure. According to Cheyne et al., a healthy heart is more sensitive to preload (Cheyne et al., 2020). An occlude of blood flow increases preload for the heart, which in turn increases the heart rate. The constriction caused by the inflated cuff evidence the dramatic increase in heart rate and blood pressure, and the slight decrease shows the significant effect of occluded blood flow on cardiovascular functioning.

The dynamic exercises for the upper body exercises yielded a higher pulse pressure and heart rate as compared to lower body exercises that produced a steady increase but lower heart rates and pulse pressure figures. These findings suggest that upper body exercises have a marked effect on the heart rate and blood pressure for an individual than exertions involving the lower body. Cardiopulmonary baroreceptors in the heart and lungs receive bio-information from the peripheral nervous mechanisms in the upper body faster. The faster reception results in a higher and steadier increase in heart rate and mean arterial pressure. According to Cheyne and colleagues, moderate to high exercises increase ventilation, and respiratory rates, in turn, result in a substantial increase in blood pressure (Cheyne et al., 2020). Faster ventilation resulting from upper body exercises contributes to the high recordings of blood pressure and heart rate. These findings arise from a higher recognition of the more rapid venous return of blood flow from the hands, while the blood flow to the heart from the legs takes a little longer.

The experiments revealed the different responses of the cardiovascular system to the diverse upper body and lower body exercises. The heart rate and pulse pressures during exercising increase steadily and similarly decrease when the subject is resting. As is evident from studies investigating changes in heart rate and blood pressure resulting from exercise, the findings of these experiments corroborate these studies and evidence the exponential responses in the heart and blood vessels.

Conclusion.

The cardiovascular system controls the functions of the heart and blood vessels. The body, at rest, records a regular heart rate and normal blood pressure. By using these records as a baseline for testing the cardiopulmonary system’s responses to exercise, it is evident that elevated blood pressure and heart rate are synonymous to exercise. Steady increases in both readings through a short period of tie predicts an exponential curve in the event of intensified exercise. Different exercises spread through a similar time frame also result in different increase rates. The conditional experiment to test the effects of obstructed blood flow on the cardiac and pulmonary functioning results in relevant findings unswerving with expectations in similar conditions.  Resting periods show that a decrease in heart rate has a linear proportion to blood pressure, as an increase in the latter is as a result of an increase in heart rate. The experiments sufficiently inform the objective, and results indicate the expected responses from the conditions of the tests. However, several factors influence the reactions of the cardiovascular responses and considerations of such elements is crucial to obtaining highly credible and appropriate results.

References

Cheyne, W. S., Harper, M. I., Gelinas, J. C., Sasso, J. P., & Eves, N. D. (2020). Mechanical cardiopulmonary interactions during exercise in health and disease. Journal of Applied Physiology, 128(5), 1271-1279.

Rhodes, J., Alexander, M. E., & Opotowsky, A. R. (Eds.). (2019). Exercise Physiology for the Pediatric and Congenital Cardiologist. Springer.