Cardiovascular and respiratory systems working together

Cardiovascular system is made up of the heart and the circulatory system. That is, the specific components of a cardiovascular system are the heart, the arteries, the veins and the capillaries (Katherine, et al., 2011). The functions of cardiovascular system include removing metabolic waste materials from the body, transporting oxygen and transporting hormones to different parts of the body (Lee, et al., 2008).

Short term exercise stimuli causes the arterioles that are serving the muscles to dilate. This will provide room for flow of blood (Aarif, et al., 2013). The vasodilation causes a reduction in the peripheral resistance while the arterial pressure remains the same. This will ensure that the heart pumps sufficient blood to the different parts of the body (Khaled & Abdel, 2008). Similarly, there will be an increase in body ventilation as a result of the increase in the air exchange between the atmosphere and the lungs (taking in more oxygen as the excess carbon dioxide is being expelled) (Kutlu & Memetoglu, 2013).

Respiratory system on the other hand consists of organs that are involved in supplying oxygen to different parts of the body as well as removing excess carbon dioxide from the body (Takeshi, et al., 2011). Respiratory system consist of the airway, muscles and the lungs (Katherine, et al., 2011).

Short term exercise stimuli will cause a need of oxygen supply in order to provide energy to the muscles. As a result, there is an increase in the rate of respiration (hiroumi, et al., 2008). Respiration increases during the exercise to increase oxygen supply and to aid in removing carbon dioxide (Khaled & Abdel, 2008). Increase in respiration is ensured by an increase in the rate of breathing (as a result of the increase in the rate of heart beat), increase in tidal volume, increase in blood supply and increase in oxygen uptake (an increase in ventilation) (Kubesova, 2010).

In a nutshell, the cardiovascular and the respiratory system both work together to ensure that there is sufficient supply of oxygen in the different body tissues as well as getting rid of excess carbon dioxide from the body tissues.

Pulse pressure is the change in pressure level from diastolic to systolic. In simple terms, pulse pressure is the systolic pressure minus the diastolic pressure (hiroumi, et al., 2008). A low pulse pressure is considered low when it is below 40mm Hg while a higher pulse pressure is that which is above 70mm Hg (Takeshi, et al., 2011).

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of short exercise stimuli on various cardiovascular variables (breath rate, pulse pressure and expired carbon dioxide).

The hypothesis is that short term exercise stimuli increases breathe rate pulse pressure and the volume of expired carbon dioxide. Before the analysis is done, there are some entries that have been removed. These are the entries with incomplete entries or empty records.

The rate of respiration is lowest during rest. Respiration rate decreases as the resting time advances from the first minute to the fifth minute just before the exercise commences. Similarly, it is clear that after the exercise, respiration rate begins to decline once again with the advancement in time. 

Pulse pressure and breath rate

These observations can as well be supported by the table of mean and standard deviations below. An increase in the mean, however, causes a decrease in the standard deviation.

The rate of respiration is lowest during rest. Respiration rate decreases as the resting time advances from the first minute to the fifth minute just before the exercise commences. Similarly, it is clear that after the exercise, respiration rate begins to decline once again with the advancement in time. 

These observations can as well be supported by the table of mean and standard deviations below. An increase in the mean, however, causes a decrease in the standard deviation. 

Figure 2 – Pulse pressure (PP in mmHg) prior to, during, and post exercise 

The Table above shows a line graph of pulse pressure prior to exercise, during exercise and after the exercise. The graph provides a comparison of pulse pressure during the three states of exercise. From the graph, it is clearly demonstrated that pulse pressure is generally lowest before the exercise begin.  

The pressure, however, is highest during the exercise period. The pulse pressure after the exercise is generally higher than that before the exercise. This is an implication that there is a general rise in pulse pressure during the exercise period. Similarly, the standard deviation is highest during the exercise period and lowest during the resting period. These can be observed from the table below. 

The table below further demonstrates that the percentage of carbon dioxide that is expelled during the exercise period is higher than that expelled during the rest period. This is seen by comparing the mean percentage of carbon dioxide expelled during the two periods. The standard deviation is higher for the exercise period than the resting period. 

The values that have been chosen for analysis are very much appropriate in helping us achieve our aim and testing our hypothesis. Drawing the graphs has clearly pointed out the effects of short exercise stimuli on various cardiovascular variables. This is because, the graphs present the variables at different periods (prior to exercise, during exercise and after the exercise).

Moreover, by clearly analyzing the graphs and the tables of mean and standard deviation, we can tell whether short term exercise stimuli increases breathe rate pulse pressure and the volume of expired carbon dioxide, thereby testing the truth value of our hypothesis.

The results collected actually meet the hypothesis of determining whether short term exercise stimuli increases breathe rate pulse pressure and the volume of expired carbon dioxide. From the results, it is clear that short term exercise stimuli increases breathe rate pulse pressure and the volume of expired carbon dioxide.

During the exercise period, there is a vasodilation of the muscles that supply blood to different parts of the body (Giovanni, et al., 2011). This in turn increases the systolic pressure in an individual so that more blood can be pumped to different parts of the body (Griffiths, et al., 2010). As the systolic pressure increases, the diastolic pressure reduces hence the difference between the diastolic and systolic pressure becomes larger (Kayo, 2014). This difference is the pulse pressure. Hence, it is true that short term exercise stimuli increases pulse pressure. 

Comparison of pulse pressure before, during and after exercise

Breath rate is controlled by pulse pressure, which is the difference between the systolic and diastolic pressure. Systolic pressure is a measure of blood pressure in the blood vessels during the time when the heat beats (Tiwari, et al., 2011). On the other hand, diastolic pressure is the measure of the amount of pressure in the blood vessels during the time when the heart is at rest (i.e. between successive beats) (Wesierski, et al., 2015). 

As the pulse pressure increases, the heart pumps blood faster (Singh, et al., 2009). This implies the rate of heart beat will also increase. An increase in the rate of heart beat increases the rate of respiration (breath rate) (Michael, et al., 2011). Therefore, more oxygen is consumed and more excess carbon dioxide is in turn expelled (Prstupa, et al., 2010). Therefore, a short exercise stimuli increases percentage of carbon dioxide that is expelled. 

The results above can further be supported by various evidences from various literatures. For example, a study on the response of cardiovascular dysfunctions to exercise by (Khaled & Abdel, 2008) suggest that, as an individual begins to exercise, there is a resulting there is an increase in blood flow to supply more oxygen to different body tissues and to expel excess carbon dioxide from the body. The study indicates that this increase in blood flow is as result of the increase in pulse pressure. This is an implication that there is a general increase in the systolic pressure and a general decrease in the diastolic pressure. 

Moreover, a study by (Kutlu & Memetoglu, 2013) on evaluation of cardiovascular factors among the university students suggests that when an individual is under exercise stimuli, then the individual will experience an increase the respiratory rate (the rate of breath). The study further indicates that the increase in rate of breath is as a result of the increase in the demand of oxygen by the body. 

Furthermore, the body produces more and more carbon dioxide. Therefore, excess carbon must be expelled from the body before they could become more toxic. Therefore, there is an increase in the rate of heart beat which increase the volume and rate of blood flow to transport oxygen to different body tissues and expel excess carbon dioxide. 

An increase in the rate of respiration increases the rate of carbon dioxide production by the body. These carbon dioxide if left to accumulate, could eventually become toxic according to the study by (Katherine, et al., 2011). Therefore, there is a need to expel then as fast as possible. 

An individual exercising on bikes might have a variation in their cardiac and respiratory responses. An individual exercising on a bike might need more energy in order to keep the bike moving by constant pedaling of the bike. More energy would imply that the ventilation would increase as the individual would need to take in more oxygen. As a result, there will be an increased respiration rate. More and more excess carbon dioxide would therefore be expelled. 

Effects of short term exercise stimuli on carbon dioxide expulsion

In order to expel more excess carbon dioxide and inhale more oxygen, the heart beat will increase. Therefore, there will be an increase in the systolic pressure in order to provide enough pressure to the muscles to be able to transport sufficient blood. Therefore, as the individual rides the bike more and more, the respiration (breath rate) and the heart beat will in turn increase. 

An increase in systolic pressure and a decrease in diastolic pressure results in an increase in the pulse pressure. This happens at a higher rate than for an individual than is undergoing a short exercise stimuli. Therefore, I suggest that for one training in a bike, there will be more increase in the cardiovascular variables (breath rate pulse pressure and the volume of expired carbon dioxide) than undergoing a small exercise stimuli. This is the major change that is expected to be experienced for an individual training in a bike. 

I decide on the resources to include and references by researching on the previous literature that have been done on related areas. Major areas that I have considered are those that touch on cardiovascular response to exercise and systolic and diastolic pressure. There are several literary work available that have been done on these subject areas. 

Working in the experiment as a group is more of a learning session than an assignment. As a group, I got to learn several insights about my fellows that I did not initially know. I also learned new way of doing things. Moreover, it enhanced my improvement in group participation in role taking. Per herpes the only suggestion for future experiments would be that we get to conduct the experiments with several control variables or specimens or individuals. This means increasing our sample size which I believe is a better way for getting a more appropriate and sufficient sample for making proper inferences.    

References

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