Analysis of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Functions During Exercise Brendan Wood Biol 473 Section 007 TA: Dani

Kim April 25, 2014

Introduction One of the most effective ways physiologists measure the cardiovascular and respiratory abilities of test subjects is through exercise. During exercise, a large metabolic demand is placed on the body. This results in physiological changes that are activated by negative feedback mechanisms of the body. As a person begins to exercise, chemical energy stored in ATP is transformed into the mechanical energy of muscle movement and heat which causes body temperature to rise. The concentration of oxygen in the blood begins to drop as cellular respiration rate increases and carbon dioxide levels rise. At rest, I hypothesize that the heart rate will be low at around 60 bpm and the mean arterial pressure will be low. Cardiac output will be low due to the state of rest and relaxation. With a minimal amount of oxygen needed for metabolism in the muscles, a low cardiac output will be acceptable. Due to a weaker metabolic demand, oxygen consumption will be low and therefore less carbon dioxide will be cleared from the blood stream. In addition, minimal body movement equates to less heat generated and therefore low temperatures. The hemoglobin saturation will be high due to the lack of carbon dioxide in the blood. During exercise, I hypothesize that the metabolic demand will increase. As a result, oxygen will be consumed more rapidly and carbon dioxide will be cleared faster. In order to increase oxygen intake and decrease carbon dioxide clearance, the cardiac output will have to increase. This will mean the heart rate will increase and the mean arterial pressure will rise. The hemoglobin saturation will also change. During exercise, as more carbon dioxide is produced, the pH of the blood will drop and therefore the hemoglobin will bind less tightly to oxygen molecules. This is advantageous because oxygen will become more readily available to muscles and will diffuse across the endothelial cells of capillaries more easily. I hypothesize that recovery values will gradually move away from the exercising state and towards the relaxed state. As the metabolic needs of the body diminish, oxygen will be consumed less readily and carbon dioxide will be cleared at a slower rate. This is due strictly to the fact that cellular respiration is not occurring as rapidly. The heart rate and the mean arterial pressure will decrease due to 1

parasympathetic stimulation of the sinoatrial node of the heart. As the carbon dioxide levels drop due to pulmonary respiration and kidney functions, the pH begins to rise. This will result in increased hemoglobin saturation. Due to the vasodilation of capillaries near the skins surface, the temperature will fall to a to just above 98.6OF. Physiologists would find this experiment useful because it illuminates the bodys compensatory mechanisms to stress. It also gives specific values of real human patients which could help physiologists come up with proper ranges for exercising. This experiment is helpful to doctors, because it helps determine what proper levels of respiratory and cardiovascular functions are for healthy, college-aged individuals. This study can be used as a benchmark of comparison for cardiologists and with diagnosing patients. They can formulate cardiovascular goals for their patients based on this study.

Methods This experiment was conducted on three test subjects. Each subject was asked to run on a treadmill until exhaustion. As the experiment proceeded, the conditions became more strenuous. Before the experiment began, an exercise heart rate was calculated using the subjects height, weight, resting heart rate, sex, and smoking habits. This calculated heart rate became the upper safe boundary for the experiment to continue. Beyond this heart rate, conditions would become unsafe and the experiment would end immediately. There were a multitude of different instruments utilized in this experiment. A thermometer was placed under the subjects tongue to measure temperature. A pulse oximeter was applied to the subjects finger in order to record the hemoglobin saturation percentage of oxygen. This tool was also used as a heart rate monitor to record the number of beats per minute of the test subject. A sphygmomanometer and stethoscope were utilized to record the blood pressure of the test subject. The capnometer was used to measure exhaled tidal CO2 volume, exhaled tidal O2 volume, and respiratory rate. The spirometer measured tidal volume (Waters et al.)

Each subject was sitting for 3 minutes to take the resting data measurements. The resting data points were used as a control because they acted as a baseline for each subject and depicted the physiological state of a subject at rest. The subject was running while taking the exercise data points and this portion of the experiment varied between 12 and 18 minutes depending on the exercise abilities of the test subject. The test subject ran on a treadmill for the exercise portion of the experiment. Conditions were changed every 3 minutes beginning with steepening the incline and then increasing the speed. The subject was initially in a recovery walk and then was sitting on a stool when we took the recovery data points. This occurred for 6 minutes. Data was collected every 3 minutes. Blood pressure was not measured throughout the exercise because of the difficulty in regards to measuring (Waters et al.). Carbon dioxide clearance was calculated by: (L CO2) = (CO2 of exhaled air) x (L/breath) x (bpm) Carbon Dioxide Clearance = (% carbon dioxide) x (tidal volume) x (respiratory rate) Oxygen consumption was calculated by: (L O2/min) = (0.209- % O2) x (L/breath) x (bpm) Oxygen consumption = (% oxygen) x (tidal volume) x (respiratory rate) Mean arterial pressure was calculated by: Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) = diastolic blood pressure + (1/3)(systolic bp - diastolic bp)

Results These results are based on 3 test subjects. Subject 1 was a 21 year old, 65 inch tall, 58.6 kg male with a resting heart rate of 70 bpm and no smoking history. His exercise heart rate was 175 bpm. Subject 2 was a 21 year old, 67 inch tall, 72.6 kg female with a resting heart rate of 80 bpm and no smoking history. Her exercise heart rate was 172 bpm. At the time of the experiment, subject 2 had a cold. Subject 3 was a 21 year old, 72 inch tall, 72.2 kg male with a resting heart rate of 73 bpm and no smoking history. His exercise heart rate was 175. The data in Figures 1, 2, and 3 were based off of the following information. At 0 and 3 minutes, each subject was seated and resting. Subject 1 exercised between the 6 minutes mark and the 21 minute 3

mark and was in recovery between 24 and 27 minutes. Subject 2 exercised between the 6 minute mark and 15 minute mark and was in recovery between 18 and 21 minutes. Subject 3 exercised between the 6 minute mark and 18 minute mark and was in recovery between 21 and 24 minutes. Each test subject determined when to stop exercising. Figure 1 depicts the heart rates of each test subject throughout the experiment. Figure 1: Changes in the Heart Rate

Changes in the Heart Rate (bpm)

Heart Rate (Beats/Minute)
250 200 150 100 50 0 0 5 10 15 Time (minutes) 20 25 30 Subject 1 Subject 2 Subject 3

Caption: Figure 1 depicts the heart rate of subjects 1, 2, and 3 at rest, during exercise, and during recovery. The first two data points for each subject are always the resting heart rate and the last two data points for each subject are always the recovery heart rate. The exercising heart rate is always contained between these points. For each subject, the heart rate increased during physical activity and then decreased during the recovery period; however, the heart rate during recovery did not return to the resting heart rate during those six minutes. Figure 2 represents the CO2 clearance during the experiment.

Figure 2: Changes in Carbon Dioxide Clearance

Changes in Carbon Dioxide Clearance (L CO2/min)

L Carbon Dioxide/minute
6 5 4 3 2 1 0 0 5 10 15 Time (minutes) 20 25 30 Subject 1 Subject 2 Subject 3

Caption: Figure 2 depicts the carbon dioxide clearance of subjects 1,2, and 3 at rest, during exercise and during recovery. For subject 1, carbon dioxide clearance was not recorded at 12 minutes and at 18 minutes because of lack of respiratory rate measurements. For subject 3, carbon dioxide clearance was not recorded at 18 minutes due to a lack of repiratory rate measument. The carbon dioxide clearance increased during physical activity for each test subject and decreased back to the resting carbon dioxide clearance during the 6 minutes of recovery. Figure 3 represents the oxygen consumption for each test subject. Figure 3: Changes in Oxygen Consumption

Changes in Oxygen Consumption (L O2/min)

15

L Oxygen/minute

10 Subject 1 5 0 0 -5 5 10 15 Time (minutes) 20 25 30 Subject 2 Subject 3

Caption: Figure 2 depicts the oxygen consumption of subjects 1,2, and 3 at rest, during exercise and during recovery. For subject 1, oxygen consumption was not recorded at 12 minutes and at 18 minutes because of lack of respiratory rate measurements. For subject 3, oxygen consumption was not recorded at 18 minutes due to a lack of repiratory rate measument. Oxygen consumption increased during exercise for each of the test subjects, especially subject 1, and returned to resting levels after the exercise. Figure 4 represents the subjects temperature.

Figure 4: Skin Temperature (OF) Resting 0 min Resting 3 min Exercising End Recovery 3 min Recovery 6 min Subject 1 94.6 95.7 100.8 100.3 98.2 Subject 2 95.1 95.6 97.1 96.8 95.9 Subject 3 95 95.5 96.4 91.4 95.9 Caption: This figure represents the skin temperature at rest at 0 minutes and at 3 minutes, the skin temperature immediately after the exercise (Exercising End), and at 3 minutes and 6 minutes into the recovery period for each test subject. The skin temperatures increased during exercise and dropped during recovery for each test subject; however, the temperature in recovery did not return to the resting temperature. The hemoglobin saturation is represented in Figure 5. Figure 5: Hemoglobin Saturation (%) Resting 0 min Resting 3 min Exercising End Recovery 3 min Recovery 6 min Subject 1 99 99 95 97 96 Subject 2 99 98 94 97 95 Subject 3 98 98 96 98 97 Caption: This figure represents the hemoglobin saturation percentage at rest at 0 minutes and at 3 minutes, the skin temperature immediately after the exercise (Exercising End), and at 3 minutes and 6 minutes into the recovery period for each test subject. The hemoglobin saturation decreased during exercise and then increased during the first 3 minutes of recovery and slightly decreased in the last 3 minutes of recovery. Mean arterial pressure is represented in figure 6. Figure 6: Mean Arterial Pressure (mmHg) Resting 0 min Resting 3 min Exercising End Recovery 3 min Recovery 6 min Subject 1 92 94 107 97 90 Subject 2 90 86 107 99 91 Subject 3 89 89 96 94 97 Caption: This figure represents the mean arterial pressure in mmHg at rest at 0 minutes and at 3 minutes, the skin temperature immediately after the exercise (Exercising End), and at 3 minutes and 6 minutes into the recovery period for each test subject. The mean arterial pressure increased during exercise for each subject and then decreased during recovery. The mean arterial pressure returned to resting levels in subject 1 and subject 2; however, stayed elevated for subject 3.

Discussion The results of this experiment corresponded closely with the hypothesis from the introduction. In the resting state, the parasympathetic nervous system dominated in order to conserve energy. The vagal nerve secreted acetylcholine into the neuromuscular junction at the sinoatrial node (Silverthorn). This caused the heart to beat at a slow rate and with a small contraction force. Since the cardiac output and the resistance in the arteries were small, the mean arterial pressure was also small. With a minimal amount of metabolic demand, oxygen consumption was low. Oxygen is critical to oxidative phosphorylation as the final electron acceptor. The amount of carbon dioxide clearance was also low because glucose and other high energy molecules were not broken down readily in the mitochondria of muscle cells. Since less energy was being used, a low amount of heat was generated. The exercising results also yielded similar results to those predicted. As the test subjects began to exercise, the muscles contracted more often and therefore used more energy in cellular respiration. This caused the amount of oxygen consumed to increase and the amount of carbon dioxide produced to also increase. As carbon dioxide levels in the blood rose, carotid and aortic chemoreceptors were stimulated. Action potentials on sensory neurons fired which caused the stimulation of medullary centers to increase ventilation (Silverthorn). As the respiratory rate increased, the tidal volume also increased in order to allow gas exchange to occur more readily. In order to accommodate for increased metabolic demand, the sympathetic nervous system stimulated the heart using norepinephrine at the adrenergic receptors on the sinoatrial node. This caused a rise in heart contraction force and heart rate. As a result, cardiac output rose and the mean arterial pressure increased. As exercise continued, the temperature in the body due to metabolic activity rose. This resulted in an increase in skin surface temperature. In order to accommodate for the rise in temperature, the blood vessels at the skins surface dilated and the skin began to secrete sweat. These observations were seen in the test subjects as a red skin color and wet appearance. The larger surface area allows heat to diffuse more readily, and the sweat cooled the body through evaporation.

The recovery period of the experiment was also consistent with the hypothesis. As the subjects began to rest, their parasympathetic nervous system was activated and the heart rate dropped. This caused the cardiac output to drop as well. With a high blood pressure, the baroreceptor reflex was stimulated which resulted in vasodilation, and reduced cardiac output. This culminated to reduced arterial pressure. Since metabolic demands directly after exercise were more than at rest, the blood pressure and heart rate were still greater than at rest. The oxygen saturation percentage was slowly rising due to the continued removal of CO2 and more basic blood. Oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide clearance were at the resting levels because muscle contractions became less frequent and metabolic functions decreased. Skin temperature was reduced after exercise for similar reasons and will continue to decrease as more sweat is produced by the body. All of the data in the experiment seemed to strongly support our hypothesis. There were a few noticeable errors. The reduced skin temperature of subject 2 indicates that improper technique was used. Although it is consistent, the placement of the thermometer should have been demonstrated to the test subjects. Also, tidal volume calculations were higher than expected for the test subjects. For example, at rest, subject 3 was exhaling 2.50L/breath. An expected value would have been approximately 0.5L. Emphasis on gentle breathing would have aided this. A major error that occurred was during subject 2s exercise. The exercise heart rate was 172 bpm, however, this subject was pushed to 198 bpm. This was very dangerous for the test subject. The subject was experiencing a cold which could have contributed to this elevated heart rate. I would redesign this experiment to give the heart rate scientist the exercise heart rate before the experiment began so that they could end the experiment appropriately. Other than this error, the experiment was an overall success. The reader should understand that this experiment was conducted only on fit, 21 year old test subjects. Unhealthy individuals may have more significant changes during exercise. Physiologists and cardiologist should use this data as a baseline for healthy cardiovascular and respiratory abilities.

References Silverthorn, D. U. (2007). Human physiology: An integrated approach. San Francisco: Pearson/Benjamin Cummings. Waters, J.R.; Tomicek N.J. 2014. Physiology Laboratory Manual. Hayden McNeil Publishing, Plymouth, MI.