Cardiovascular System
Lecture 5 (part I-II)
September 28, 2005
October 5, 2005
EXS 558
Dr. Moran
Major Cardiovascular Functions
Delivery (e.g., oxygen and nutrients)
Transportation (e.g., hormones)
Prevention (e.g., infection—immune function)
Just Some Facts
For an average person the heart pumps
~5L/min
With exercise programs the heart
(cardiac muscle) can adapt as well
Heart
Myocardium – Cardiac Muscle
Thickness varies directly with stress placed on chamber
walls.
With vigorous exercise, the left ventricle size increases.
Heart Function
At rest, the heart spends most of its time filling (60%
- diastole) than expelling (40% - systole)
Following systole, the AV valves rapidly open and fill
the ventricles up to 70-80%
The middle 1/3 of diastole has little filling and is known as
diastasis
Stroke Volume & Cardiac Output
Stroke Volume (SV)
Volume of blood pumped per contraction
End-systolic volume (ESV)—volume of blood in ventricle after contraction
SV = EDV – ESV
.
Cardiac Output (Q)
.
Q = HR SV
Varies considerably between people
Trained athletes have lower resting HR and higher SV (Table 4.1)
Ejection Fraction
Proportion of blood pumped out of the left ventricle each
beat
Averages 60% at rest
Calculation of SV, EF, and Q
Vascular System
Arteries
Arterioles
Capillaries
Creates a large surface area ideal for gas exchange
Venules
Veins
Blood Flow controlled by the autonomic nervous system
During REST
During EXERCISE
Muscle Pump
Blood distribution matched to overall
metabolic demands
Autoregulation—
Extrinsic neural control—sympathetic
nerves within walls of vessels are stimulated
causing vessels to constrict
Blood Pressure
Systolic blood pressure (SBP: s=squeeze) is the highest
pressure and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) is the lowest
pressure
MAP = DBP + [0.333 (SBP – DBP)]
Review
Vascular System
Blood returns to the heart with the help of
breathing, the muscle pump, and valves in
the veins.
Autoregulation controls blood flow by
vasodilation in response to local chemical
changes in an area.
(continued)
Review (continued)
Extrinsic neural factors control blood flow
primarily by vasoconstriction.
Mean arterial pressure (MAP) is the
average pressure on the arterial walls.
Blood Functions
Transports gas, nutrients, and wastes
Buffers and balances acid base
Blood Volume
Composition
Blood Formed Elements & Hematocrit
Blood formed elements
White blood cells—protect body from disease organisms
Red blood cells—carry oxygen to tissues with the help of hemoglobin
Hematocrit
Ratio of formed elements to the total blood volume
Oxygen Transport
Oxygen transported in blood combined
to hemoglobin (98%) or dissolved in
plasma (2%)
Oxygen saturation affected by:
1.)
2.)
3.)
Bohr Effect
Erythropoietin (EPO)
Protein hormone produced by kidney
Medically used to treat anemia (chronic
kidney failure)
Increase oxygen carrying capacity of
blood
“Sludging” of blood VERY dangerous
Cardiovascular Response to Acute Exercise
Heart rate (HR) increases as exercise intensity increases
up to maximal heart rate.
.
Increases
. in HR and SV during exercise cause cardiac
output (Q) to increase.
All result in allowing the body to efficiently meet the
increased demands placed on it.
Heart Rate During Exercise
Initial increase b/c of withdrawal of
parasympathetic input
Feedback from peripheral mechanical and
chemical receptors
Stroke Volume During Exercise
Stroke volume changes are because of
an increase in EDV
Suctioning Mechanism:
Frank-Starling Mechanism: with a greater volume of
blood returning to the heart the ventricles become stretched
and respond with a more powerful contraction
Cardiac Drift
Increase in HR and decrease in SV
Reason: greater % of blood flowing to skin to
dissipate heat lower EDV causes an increased HR
Arteriovenous Oxygen Difference
Rest 25% of O2 extracted from blood
Exercise up to 75% of O2 extracted from
blood (used by exercising muscles)
Fick Equation:
Cardiovascular Response to Training
Cardiac Output
Heart Rate
Cardiac Morphology
Table 4.2 (p. 52)
Cardiac Output
VO2 max increases due to
1.) Improved oxygen extraction
2.) Increased cardiac output
3.) Max HR NOT affected from training
Stroke Volume
Endurance-trained athletes have 60%
greater SV
Enlarged left ventricular chamber
(eccentric hypertrophy)
Stroke Volume & Training
Changes in EDV, ESV, EF
Heart Rate
Decrease in resting HR
Highly trained endurance
athletes may have resting
heart rates of 30 to 40
beats/min
Heart Rate Recovery
With training, heart rate returns to resting level more
quickly after exercise
Conditions such as altitude or heat can affect it
Heart Rate Recovery (continued)
Blood Pressure
In hypertensive individuals, endurance exercise
reduces both systolic and diastolic blood pressure
(3-5x week; 30 min)
Conflicting results from the result of resistance
training
Blood Flow Increases With Training
Increased capillarization of trained muscles (higher
capillary-to-fiber ratio)
More effective blood redistribution—blood goes where
it is needed
Blood Volume and Training
Endurance training, especially intense
training, increases blood volume.
Red blood cell volume increases, but
increase in plasma volume is higher; thus,
hematocrit decreases.
Changes in plasma volume are highly
.
correlated with changes in SV and VO 2max.
Blood Volume and Training
Cardiac Morphology
Law of LaPlace: ventricular wall pressure is proportional to pressure
and the radius of curvature (Ford 1976)
Adaptations from Exercise Programs
Endurance Athletes
Greater than normal left ventricular internal diameter
Resistance Athletes
Left ventricular mass 45% greater than age-matched sedentary
controls
(Fleck 1988)
Differences in Heart Size
Intraventricular septal thickness
The effect of acute aerobic exercise on stress
related blood pressure responses: A
systematic review and meta-analysis
Hamer et al. (2005)
Left Ventricular Mass Index and Sports: the
influence of different sports activities and
arterial blood pressure
Cubero et al. (2000)
Echocardiograph (ultrasound)
Research Design
Cross Sectional
collected all at the same time (“snapshot”)
Randomized Controlled Trial
Two groups
Treatment group receives the treatment under
investigation,
Control group
VO2 Max Testing
Depends on testing protocol
Triathletes
cycling ergometer protocol will be 3-6% less
than that seen in treadmill running, while
swimming is 13-18% less (O'Toole and
Douglas, 1995)
