Name: __________________ Date: __________________ Pulse and Blood Pressure Lab Thinking & Inquiry /12 Application /10 Each time the ventricles contract, about 70 mL of blood is forced into the arteries. Every time this happens, the pressure is raised throughout the arterial system. This arterial pressure, however, falls as the blood is pushed through the capillaries. Then a new ventricular contraction repressurizes the system. This rhythmic change in arterial pressure is called a pulse. If you exercise vigorously, your heart rate, or pulse rate, increases. The amount that it increases depends on how fit you are. A strong heart can pump blood more efficiently than a weak one. Blood pressure and heart rate can be affected by the activity our body is performing. In this lab we will investigate the effect of posture and exercise on heart rate and the effect of exercise on blood pressure. PULSE/HEART RATE 1. Place your first and second finger in the groove between the radius bone (thumb side) and the tendon at the wrist and press lightly. 2. Count the # of beats in 10 seconds 3. Record your data in table 1. 4. Repeat steps 1‐3 while lying down for at least a minute, and after 2 minutes of exercise. BLOOD PRESSURE 1. Place your arm wrist up, roll sleeves up and place the cuff just above the elbow. 2. In you are using a stethoscope and sphygmomanometer, continue following steps 3‐6. If you are using a digital device, skip to step 7. 3. Place the stethoscope bell under the cuff on the inner surface of the arm. 4. Pump the cuff to about 140 mmHg then SLOWLY release the air while listening for the “thuds” 5. FIRST THUD = Systolic pressure (record the reading in table 2); SECOND THUD = Diastolic pressure (record in table 2) 6. Immediately release the air after reading. Repeat steps 1‐5 after 2 minutes of exercise. 7. Pump the cuff to 140 mmHg and wait for a reading on the screen. 8. After the reading is given, deflate the cuff. If the screen indicates and error, check the placement of the cuff. An error may also be due to movement during the reading. Repeat steps 7‐8 after 2 minutes of exercise. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS – Answer on a separate piece of paper. (10 marks) 1. a. What major artery was detected in the wrist? b. What major artery was detected at the neck? 2. a. From question #1, which pulse is heard first following a heart beat? Why? b. Why are they not exactly in time with each other? 3. What causes a pulse? 4. What is the effect of exercise on the heart? 5. How might the heart “know” to react this way? 6. How does the body benefit from the change in heart rate during exercise? 7. Why does the heart itself need more oxygen during exercise? 8. Each ventricle pumps out 70mL of blood with every beat. How many beats are necessary to pump 4.2L of blood through the heart? OBSERVATIONS: (12 marks) Recreate the tables below on a separate sheet of paper. Table 2 – Blood Pressure Table 1 – Pulse rate Systolic Diastolic BP 10 seconds Per minute Resting Resting Lying Down After Exercise After Exercise Name: __________________ Date: __________________ Pulse and Blood Pressure Lab Thinking & Inquiry /12 Application /10 Each time the ventricles contract, about 70 mL of blood is forced into the arteries. Every time this happens, the pressure is raised throughout the arterial system. This arterial pressure, however, falls as the blood is pushed through the capillaries. Then a new ventricular contraction repressurizes the system. This rhythmic change in arterial pressure is called a pulse. If you exercise vigorously, your heart rate, or pulse rate, increases. The amount that it increases depends on how fit you are. A strong heart can pump blood more efficiently than a weak one. Blood pressure and heart rate can be affected by the activity our body is performing. In this lab we will investigate the effect of posture and exercise on heart rate and the effect of exercise on blood pressure. PULSE/HEART RATE 1. Place your first and second finger in the groove between the radius bone (thumb side) and the tendon at the wrist and press lightly. 2. Count the # of beats in 10 seconds 3. Record your data in table 1. 4. Repeat steps 1‐3 while lying down for at least a minute, and after 2 minutes of exercise. BLOOD PRESSURE 1. Place your arm wrist up, roll sleeves up and place the cuff just above the elbow. 2. In you are using a stethoscope and sphygmomanometer, continue following steps 3‐6. If you are using a digital device, skip to step 7. 3. Place the stethoscope bell under the cuff on the inner surface of the arm. 4. Pump the cuff to about 140 mmHg then SLOWLY release the air while listening for the “thuds” 5. FIRST THUD = Systolic pressure (record the reading in table 2); SECOND THUD = Diastolic pressure (record in table 2) 6. Immediately release the air after reading. Repeat steps 1‐5 after 2 minutes of exercise. 7. Pump the cuff to 140 mmHg and wait for a reading on the screen. 8. After the reading is given, deflate the cuff. If the screen indicates and error, check the placement of the cuff. An error may also be due to movement during the reading. Repeat steps 7‐8 after 2 minutes of exercise. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS – Answer on a separate piece of paper. (10 marks) 1. a. What major artery was detected in the wrist? b. What major artery was detected at the neck? 2. a. From question #1, which pulse is heard first following a heart beat? Why? b. Why are they not exactly in time with each other? 3. What causes a pulse? 4. What is the effect of exercise on the heart? 5. How might the heart “know” to react this way? 6. How does the body benefit from the change in heart rate during exercise? 7. Why does the heart itself need more oxygen during exercise? 8. Each ventricle pumps out 70mL of blood with every beat. How many beats are necessary to pump 4.2L of blood through the heart? OBSERVATIONS: (12 marks) Recreate the tables below on a separate sheet of paper. Table 2 – Blood Pressure Table 1 – Pulse rate Systolic Diastolic BP 10 seconds Per minute Resting Resting Lying Down After Exercise After Exercise