The Effects of Exercise on Blood Pressure

Effects of Exercise on Blood Pressure

Introduction

Blood pressure is defined as “The force the blood exerts against the inner walls of the blood vessels” (Shier, 2013, pg 582). Blood pressure is monitored by using a sphygmomanometer and a stethoscope and is a routine test in most medical examinations. A sphygmomanometer is basically a cuff, it is wrapped around the upper arm and inflated with air to put force against the brachial artery and briefly stop the blood flow. The person performing the test will use a stethoscope to listen to the artery below the cuff and slowly release the air from the cuff. An attached gauge with numerical values representing millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) on it is used to measure the blood pressure. The person performing the test will listen for two important beats, the first and the last. The first beat measures the systolic blood pressure or the force exerted on the walls of the blood vessels during the contraction of the ventricle. The last beat is the diastolic blood pressure or the force exerted on the walls of the blood vessels while the ventricles are resting.

The importance of blood pressure monitoring cannot be understated. Blood pressure monitoring alerts health care providers to potential illnesses, abnormal readings can be a sign of left ventricle hypertrophy, congestive heart failure, stroke, and many other potentially deadly illnesses. The chart below shows the normal and abnormal blood pressure ranges for an adult. (Blood Pressure: Questions You Have. . . Answers You Need, 1997)

Systolic BP Diastolic BP

Category (mm Hg) (mm Hg)

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...evels. Furthermore, the exercise performed should classified as light, moderate and strenuous, subjects should tested before and after performing at each level of exercises. The research obtained in this experiment could potentially lead to the development of a standardized test to predict future health problems in the subjects that participate.

This experiment done over a period of time and combined with dietary monitoring and regimented exercise would produce results that would show the effects of regular exercise and weight loss have blood pressure. Would the effects be the same? Or would regular exercise and weight loss lead to acute increases in blood pressure immediate after exercise and a steady decrease in average blood pressure over time? This experiment was a success, however, the questions raised by the results require further experimentation.