The Cardiovascular
System
GCSE PE
Test yourself…
In the back of your book, in silence,
how many keywords can you think of
in one minute. The keywords must
relate to…
Starter activity…
Spot Test!
1. Identify the three main parts of the cardiovascular system (3)
2. What two things do the cardiovascular system transport around
the body? (2)
3. What is the job of (i) arteries? (ii) veins? (2)
4. Where does the deoxygenated blood become oxygenated? (1)
5. Define heart rate (1)
6. Define stroke volume (1)
7. How can we calculate cardiac output? (1)
8. What is systolic blood pressure? (2)
9. What is diastolic blood pressure? (2)
TOTAL /15
Learning Objectives…
• To identify the short and long term effects of
exercise on the cardiovascular system
• To understand these effects of exercise
• To analyse how your lifestyle affects your
cardiovascular system
Effects of exercise…
Exercise is good for your cardiovascular system.
What do you think the
difference is between
short and long term
effects of exercise?
Short Term Effects…
This is what happens to
your body immediately!
• When you exercise, your heart rate increases to increase the
blood supply to your muscles
• Your heart also contracts more strongly to pump even more
blood around the body. This increases your blood pressure.
The more strongly your heart
contracts, the higher your systolic
pressure will be. Your diastolic
pressure will usually stay the same.
Long Term Effects…
• Your heart gets bigger and stronger
• Increase in stroke volume and cardiac output - this means
your heart will pump more strongly, and more blood with
each beat
• Resting heart rate decreases – this is because your heart has
to pump less often to pump the same amount of blood
around your body
• Veins and arteries get bigger and stretchier – so your blood
pressure falls. They also get stronger.
• The better blood supply to your muscles, the faster your body
can recover after exercise.
This is what happens to
your body if you have
been exercising all your
life!
Lifestyle Effects…
• Your whole lifestyle affects your cardiovascular system
Can you think of different aspects of your
lifestyle that can effect your cardiovascular
fitness?
Have a think to yourself…
Share your ideas with a partner…
Feedback to the class…
Lifestyle effects…
DIET
• Eating a diet that’s high in
saturated fat and salt can
cause your blood pressure
and cholesterol to increase
• However, you need a certain
amount of cholesterol to live
• Cholesterol gets transported
in your blood stream by two
different proteins – LDL and
HDL
DRUGS
• Drugs can have an effect on
your blood pressure
• Drinking alcohol causes high
blood pressure
• Smoking and nicotine can
cause a temporary rise in
blood pressure
Cholesterol…
Cholesterol gets transported by two different proteins…
LDL and HDL
LDL (Low-density lipoprotein)
HDL (High-density lipoprotein)
• Transports cholesterol to
your cells
• This helps get rid of excess
cholesterol from the body
• This is often called the ‘bad
type’ because having too
much can block your blood
vessels
• Having a lot of HDL is a
good thing as it helps to
stop a build up of
cholesterol
• You can increase your level
of HDL by exercising
Rest…
How can rest effect your cardiovascular system?
• Rest is required for adaptations of the heart to take place
• Rest is needed for cardiac hypertrophy to take place
• Rest is required for heart rate to recover to resting level
Lifestyle effects…
Have a think about the three things
we have just spoke about…
• Diet
• Drugs
• Rest
How do you think Jessica Ennis takes
these into consideration to make sure
her cardiovascular fitness is where it
needs to be for her 800m?
Write a paragraph in your book
explaining this.
Exam questions…
• Complete the worksheet with exam questions based on what
we have learnt over the past two lessons
• Make sure you recognise the key words in the questions and
your answer reflects the amount of marks the question is
worth