CVS

SGL 17/ Physiology

Effects of Exercise on CVS
Department of Basic sciences
Physiology Unit
2021-2022
2nd stage
• Definitions to be learn :

• 1/ Aerobic physical activity:

Activity in which the body’s large muscles move in a
rhythmic manner for a sustained period of time.
• Aerobic activity, also called endurance activity,
improves cardiorespiratory fitness.
• Brisk walking, running, swimming, and bicycling are
examples.
• 2/ Moderate-intensity physical activity:
• Physical activity that requires some increase in
breathing and heart rate and expends 3.5 to 7
calories per minute.

Walking at a speed of 3 to 4.5 miles per hour ,

(about 15 to 20 minutes to walk one mile) is an
example.
• 3/ Vigorous-intensity physical activity:

• Physical activity that requires a large increase in

breathing and heart rate and expends more than 7
calories per minute.
• Walking at a very brisk pace > 4.5 miles per hour
or running at a pace of at least 5 miles per hour
are examples.
• The Cardiovascular System and Exercise
• The heart is a muscle that is required to contract
continuously throughout the life to deliver oxygen
to all organs in the body and breathe out carbon
dioxide.

• Blood vessels connect the heart and lungs so that

carbon dioxide can be removed from the blood and
oxygen can be added to the blood.
• The heart then pumps this blood throughout the
body.
• The Cardiovascular System and Exercise

• Exercise places an increased demand on the

cardiovascular system to pump more oxygen to
supply the working muscle to produce energy
(aerobic oxidation).

• Oxygen demand by the muscles increases,

more nutrients are needed and more waste is
created.
• Functions of the Cardiovascular System
during exercise
The cardiovascular system serves five important
functions during exercise:
1- Delivers oxygen to working muscles.
2- Deoxygenates blood by returning it to the lungs.
3- Transports heat from the center to the skin.
4- Delivers nutrients and fuel to active tissues.
5- Transports hormones.
 Response and Adaptation of the
Cardiovascular System to exercise:
The topics of heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac
output are important as they are key elements when
you discuss the effects of endurance exercise on the
cardiac function.

1- Heart rate
2- Stroke volume
3- Cardiac output
4- Blood flow
5- Blood pressure
• Taking part in regular exercise or training around
three times per week for six weeks will lead to
adaptation of the body systems that are used or
trained.
• This has the effect of increasing performance in that
type of exercise or sport and is often beneficial to
general health and everyday life.

Aerobic training increases aerobic Resistance training increases strength

endurance
1- Heart Rate
• Heart Rate
Resting heart rate averages 60 to 80 beats/min in
healthy adults.
• In sedentary, middle aged individuals it may be
as high as 100 beats/min.
• In elite endurance athletes heart rates as low
as 28 to 40 beats/min.
 Anticipatory response :
• Anticipatory response (increased heart rate before
exercise) ,caused by the release of epinephrine.

• Before exercise even begins heart rate increases in

anticipation (expectation).
• This is known as the anticipatory response.

• It is mediated through :
• the releases of neurotransmitters epinephrine and
norepinephrine also known as adrenaline and
noradrenaline (adrenal gland).
 2- Stroke volume

• Stroke volume is the amount of blood ejected per

beat from left ventricle and measured in ml/beat.

• Stroke volume increases proportionally with exercise

intensity.

• In untrained individuals stroke volume at rest it

averages 50-70ml/beat.
2- Stroke volume:
• During intense, physical activity stroke volume
increasing up to ( 110-130 ml/beat).

• In elite athletes resting stroke volume

averages ( 90 -110 ml/beat ) increasing to as
much as (150-220 ml/beat ) .
 3- Cardiac output :

Cardiac output is the amount of blood pumped by

the heart in 1 minute measured in L/min.

It is a product of; stroke volume and heart rate

(SV x HR).
If either heart rate or stroke volume increase, or
both,
cardiac output increases also.
• Cardiac output during exercise
• During vigorous aerobic exercise, such as running,
cycling or swimming, cardiac output rises steeply to
keep the muscles supplied with oxygen.

• Long-term endurance training strengthens the heart,

increasing its maximal cardiac output, although resting
cardiac output remains unchanged.
• This means that during exercise we have a greater cardiac
output than when at rest since our cells need oxygen more
quickly.
• Hormones such as noradrenaline and adrenaline that are
released during exercise and stress, work to increase the
heart rate and the output from the heart.
• A number of comprehensive papers from scientific
organizations and numerous research articles summarized
the effect of exercise on cardiac output , with the consistent
conclusion that exercise can significantly affect cardiac
output, particularly during high intensity exercise bouts.
• Increase in cardiac output is due primarily to an increase in
heart rate and stroke volume.

• Cardiac output increases proportionally with exercise

intensity - which is predictable from understanding the
response of HR and SV to activity.

• At rest the cardiac output is about 5.5 L/min. the values is

typically for a resting, average sized adult.
• During intense exercise, this can increase to 20-40 L/min. as
the exercise progresses in relation to the intensity.
 4- Blood flow
• The vascular system can redistribute blood to those
tissues with the greatest immediate demand for
energy such as:
• muscles (Skeletal muscle receives a greater blood
supply).

• At rest 15-20% of circulating blood supplies

skeletal muscle.

• During vigorous exercise this increases to 80- 85%

of cardiac output.
 Redistribution of blood flow
• During exercise, the cardiovascular system redistributes the
blood so that more of it goes to the working muscles and
less of it goes to other body organs such as the digestive
system.
• This redirection of blood flow is caused by a mechanism (or
process) called the vascular shunt mechanism.

• It works a little bit like a railway terminal, where trains are

directed on to some tracks and stopped from travelling on
to others.
• The blood vessels allow lots of blood to travel to the
working muscles but they don't allow much to travel to
other organs. When the muscles stop working, the blood
distribution returns to its normal route.
 5- Blood Pressure

• At rest, a typical systolic blood pressure in a

healthy individual ranges from 110-140 mmHg
and 60-90 mmHg for diastolic blood pressure.

• During exercise systolic pressure, the pressure

during contraction of the heart (known as systole)
can increase to over 200 mmHg and in highly
trained, healthy athletes.
• Effects of exercise on the cardio-respiratory system
• The cardio-respiratory system works together to get
oxygen to the working muscles and remove carbon dioxide
from the body.

• During exercise the muscles need more oxygen in order to

contract and they produce more carbon dioxide as a waste
product.

• To meet this increased demand by the muscles, the

following happens: Breathing depth (tidal volume) and
rate increase – this gets more oxygen into the lungs and
removes more carbon dioxide out of the lungs.
The graph shows that as a person goes from rest to
exercise, their tidal volume increases
Heart rate increases – this increases the rate that
oxygen is transported from the blood to the working
muscles and carbon dioxide is transported from the
working muscles to the lungs.
This graph indicates the following:
• the person's resting heart rate is around 60 bpm
• at 8 minutes, just before taking part in exercise their
heart rate increases – this is called the anticipatory
increase in heart rate which occurs when a person
starts to think about taking part in exercise
• at 10 minutes the person starts to take part in
exercise and there is a steep increase in heart rate
which reaches 145 bpm at 13 minutes
• the heart rate remains high during exercise
• when the person stops taking part in exercise the
heart rate decreases.
 Summary:
• Changes to heart rate during exercise
• Heart rate is measured in beats per minute (bpm).
During exercise the heart rate increases so that
sufficient blood is taken to the working muscles to
provide them with enough nutrients and oxygen.
• An increase in heart rate also allows for waste
products to be removed.
• Maximal heart rate can be worked out by the
following equation: Maximum HR = 220 – age
• Change to stroke volume during exercise
• Stroke volume increases which means more blood is
pumped out of the heart each time it contracts.

• Changes to cardiac output during exercise

• At rest a person's cardiac output is approximately 5 liters
per minute, while during exercise it can increase to as
much as 30 liters per minute as both their heart rate and
stroke volume increase.

• Changes to blood pressure during exercise

• As exercise increases, cardiac output (Q) also increases.
This has the effect of increasing blood pressure.
• A typical blood pressure reading for a person at the start
of exercise would be around 160/85 mmHg.