The adaptability of the heart can be observed during exercise, when the metabolic activity

of skeletal muscles increases. The cardiovascular system, consisting of the heart and blood
vessels, responds to exercise with an increase in heart rate and blood pressure. Exercise is known
as physical activity. In simple terms exercise is any movement that works your body at a greater
intensity than your usual level of daily activity. Exercise works your muscles and is most
commonly undertaken to achieve the aim of physical fitness.
When your heart beats, it pumps blood round your body to give it the energy and oxygen
it needs. As the blood moves, it pushes against the sides of the blood vessels. The strength of this
pushing is your blood pressure. If your blood pressure is too high, it puts extra strain on your
arteries and your heart. It is important to keep your blood pressure as low as you can to lower
your risk of heath problems such as heart attacks and strokes. A healthy blood pressure reading
should be lower than 120/80 mmHg and a blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher indicates
high blood pressure (hypertension).
Your pulse is your heart rate, or the number of times your heartbeats in one minute. Pulse
rates vary from person to person. Your pulse is lower when you are at rest and increases when you
exercise (more oxygen-rich blood is needed by the body when you exercise). The pulse rate
depends on the individual, age, body size, heart conditions, whether the person is sitting or
moving, medication use and even air temperature. A normal resting pulse rate for adults ranges
from 60 to 100 beats a minute. Generally, a lower heart rate at rest implies more efficient heart
function and better cardiovascular fitness.
A sphygmomanometer, also called a blood pressure meter, is an instrument or device that
is specifically designed to measure arterial blood pressure. It is composed of an inflatable air-
bladder rubber cuff that is wrapped around an upper arm and restricts any blood flow, and a
mercury or pressure gauge (mechanical manometer) that actually measures the pressure.
In this experiment, seven (7) candidates were chosen. Of these seven candidates; four (4)
were males and three (3) were females. This was done to obtain a wider range of results. The
individuals of each sex group were about the same weight and height in increase accuracy of the
results. Simple exercise workouts such as walking and jumping jacks were used to investigate
the effect of exercise intensity and their blood pressure and pulse were taken immediately after.
Table 1 showed the sex, weight and height of each candidate and their blood pressure and
pulse at rest and when light, moderate and intense exercises was done. From the table it was
observed that the male candidates generally weighed more than the females and that they were
generally taller. It was noted that each candidates’ blood pressure was between 104 to 139 and
their pulse rates were between 76 to 102 beats per minute at rest. After the light intensity
workouts were done, the blood pressure of the candidates were recorded between 96 to 141 and
their pulse rates were between 76 to 102 beats per minute. Each candidates blood pressure was
between 107 to 163 and their pulse rates ranged from 104 to 167 beats per minute after moderate
workouts. Lastly at intense levels, the candidates blood pressure was between 49 to 116 whereas
their pulse rates were from 142 to 175. Table 2 showed the average blood pressure and pulse rate
for the male and female candidate for each exercise intensity. It was observed that the average
pulse rate for the male and female candidates increased. However, that didn’t occur with the
average blood pressure. This could have been because of the errors faced in the experiment and
due to the unfit state of some candidates making them unable to cope with the various intensities
of exercise.
From Graph 1, it showed clearly that the male candidates had a higher blood pressure
with increasing exercise intensities however due to errors that occurred during the experiment
there was a decrease in blood pressure for light exercise and intense exercise. The same pattern
occurred for the female candidates. Another thing noted from Graph 1 was that the blood
pressure of the male candidates were higher than that of the female candidates. From Graph 2, it
was observed that the average pulse rate increased as the exercise intensity increased. Therefore
the graph showed proportionality. However, it was noted yet again that the average pulse rate of
the male candidates were higher than that of the female candidates. As mentioned previously,
blood pressure and pulse rate increases when we exercise and the experiment performed showed
similar results to this.