Lab #: 11

Date: 26/11/21

Title: Circulatory system- effect of exercise on blood pressure and pulse rate.

Aim: To determine the effect of exercise on blood pressure and pulse rate.

Apparatus and Materials:

Procedure:
1) A student at rest was recorded and immediately her systolic blood pressure, diastolic
blood pressure and pulse rate was taken using the automatic blood pressure monitor.
2) This was repeated twice after every three minutes.
3) The same was then allowed to exercise for 5 minutes then the systolic blood pressure,
diastolic blood pressure and pulse rate was taken using the automatic blood pressure
monitor.
4) This was repeated twice after every three minutes.
5) Then the student was allowed to rest (post exercise) and the systolic blood pressure,
diastolic pressure and pulse rate was measured twice every 3 minutes.
6) The results were tabulated and a graph of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood
pressure and pulse rate against time was plotted.
Results:
Discussion:

The heart supplies the organs and tissues of the body with blood. With every beat, it
pumps blood into the large blood vessels of the circulatory system. As the blood moves around
the body, it puts pressure on the walls of the vessels. Blood pressure is measured in units of
millimeters of mercury (mmHg). Blood pressure is the measure of circulating blood against the
walls of blood vessels. It is taken using two measurements: systolic (measured when the heart
beats, when blood pressure is at its highest) and diastolic (measured between heart beats,
when blood pressure is at its lowest).
It's important to measure blood pressure more than once because it fluctuates over the
course of the day. It can also change due to things like physical exertion, stress, pain, or
extreme heat or cold. But this kind of increase in blood pressure is only temporary and it soon
returns to normal. So, if blood pressure is measured just once and found to be high, it doesn't
necessarily mean that it's always too high. So to get reliable readings, blood pressure is
measured on several different days and while you are resting. This means sitting down and
relaxing on a chair, and waiting about three minutes before taking a measurement so that your
circulatory system comes to rest. The upper arm that is being used for the measurement should
rest on a table, at about the same height as the heart, while the reading is being done. Digital
blood pressure monitors are activated simply by pressing a button and they read the blood
pressure automatically based on variations in the volume of blood in the arteries.
Blood pressure is written with the systolic blood pressure first, followed by the diastolic
blood pressure (for example 120/80).The diastolic reading is the pressure in the arteries when
the heart rests between beats. This is the time when the heart fills with blood and gets oxygen.
A normal diastolic blood pressure during quiet rest is 80 mmHg or a little below. Low diastolic
blood pressure may be seen as a number lower than the range which is considered to be
normal for example 60 mm Hg. If you have high blood pressure, the diastolic number is often
higher even during quiet rest. The systolic reading measures the force of blood against your
artery walls while your ventricles contract, forcing blood to exit the ventricles and move out to
the rest of your body. Your systolic blood pressure is the higher and first number in a blood
pressure reading. If it's too high or too low while you are at rest this can be due to a serious
problem and should be checked.
The heart rate is one of the ‘vital signs,’ or the important indicators of health in the
human body. The pulse rate or heart rate is the number of heartbeats per unit of time, usually
per minute. The heart rate is based on the number of contractions of the ventricles (the lower
chambers of the heart) and can be too fast (tachycardia) or too slow (bradycardia). The pulse is
a bulge of an artery from waves of blood that course through the blood vessels each time the
heart beats. It refers to a pressure wave that expands and recoils the artery when the heart
contracts/beats and is palpated at many points throughout the body. The most common
locations to accurately assess pulse as part of vital sign measurement include radial, brachial,
carotid, and apical pulse.
With exercise it is known that your heart rate and blood pressure experiences a drastic
increase. With reference to the graph plotted, within the first 6 minutes of rest a pulse rate,
systolic and diastolic pressure of 81-88, 104-109 and 67-73 was maintained respectively. This is
due to the constant state of rest and hence a constant rate at which the demand for oxygen is
required. After exercise however, there was a drastic increase in the pulse rate, systolic and
diastolic blood pressure as seen in the graph. This is due to the increased demand for oxygen
by the muscles, hence the heart starts to pump harder and faster to circulate blood to deliver
oxygen to the muscles. As a result, pulse rate and blood pressure rises. As blood is being
pumped out of the heart with a greater intensity to the muscles transporting oxygenated blood to
these respiring cells, the systolic blood pressure increases to a maximum of 118.5. While, blood
being pumped from the atria into the ventricles in a similar manner increases the diastolic blood
pressure to a maximum of 87. As a result of the elevated blood pressure, it is seen that the
heart rate increases dramatically, even more so than the blood pressure to a maximum of 128.
With an increase in heart rate, the force of the heart's contractions also increases while
exercising, so more blood is pumped with each beat. This effect increases blood pressure.
However, the blood vessels that supply the muscles dilate, or get larger, during exercise. This
enables increased blood flow to the muscles without putting excess pressure on your blood
vessel walls. So while the blood pressure rises during exercise, it is to a much smaller degree
than the increase in heart rate. This is seen in the graph at 7 minutes where the pulse rate is
significantly higher than the systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Precautions:
1) Two students were used to measure the pulse rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure,
in order for an average to be obtained, as it accounts for the differences in blood
pressure and heart rate amongst various persons.
2) The same exercise was used for each interval at which exercise was required in order
for the same amount of energy to be used up at each interval, as various exercises can
have different requirements of energy.

Limitations:
1) While the students were at rest before taking their heart rates and blood pressure, other
factors such as caffeine intake, temperature or sleep could have affected their results.
For example with an intake of caffeine in high doses there can be an increase in blood
pressure, increase the contractility or force of the heart, and mildly increase the heart
rate.

Sources of Error:
1) During exercise in the experiment, the students would have stopped in between for quick
breaks in order to catch their breath then continue and hence the readings may not have
been accurate as this could have slowed down the heart rate and blood pressure from
the actual value after exercise.
Conclusion:
The effect of exercise on blood pressure and pulse rate was determined with the use of
a sphygmomanometer by comparing the initial blood pressure and heart rates before exercise
to the blood pressure and heart rates after exercise. It was found that there was a drastic
increase in both the blood pressure and heart rate after exercise.