¶ … Measuring Heart and Ventilation Rate During and After Moderate Exercise
A useful perspective to begin the process of conducting an experiment to measure heart and ventilation rate during and after a moderate exercise is to explain the central purpose of the experiment. Generally speaking, if we can measure the heart and the ventilation rate of an individual, we will be able to ascertain the individual's level of fitness. In addition, during an exercise activity, measuring the heart and ventilation rate can be a strategy for indicating the presence of disease in the subject's system. Furthermore, this kind of experiment can enable a researcher to determine the subject's maximum capacity, which, in turn, can serve not only as a barometer for determining the subject's cardiac capacity but also of his/her fatigue level. The following sections explored the objectives, steps and procedures for the experiment for measure the heart rate and ventilation rate during and after moderate exercise.
Experiment 1
Objectives: To measure the heart rate during and after moderate exercise in humans.
Background
Broadly speaking, our body store energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate, commonly known as ATP. The human body can call up ATP at short notice to provide the energy needed for all forms of body movements. It is important to note here that the human body produce ATP via a process called cellular metabolism. The act of creating ATP, on the other hand, is only possible if, and only if, the heart has the capability to transport oxygenated blood to all the cells of the body by way of the cardiovascular system. When humans increase their exercise intensity, their muscles will start to demand more ATP. This will naturally make is necessary for the heart rate to increase further to ensure that adequate amount of blood is pumped to the muscles (Allaby, 2011; Davis, 2000; Goleman & Gunn, 1993). Having premised this, I will now briefly discuss how exercise affects heart rate.
As can be seen from the above, the heart's main function is to ensure that all the cells, tissues, organs and systems receive adequate oxygen by pumping blood around the body (Allaby, 2011; Davis, 2000; Goleman & Gunn, 1993; Hawkins, 1993; Hanbly & Muir, 1997). The human blood contains oxygen and other nutrients which helps human beings to produce the right amount of necessary energy they need to maintain life processes. It is sufficient to note here that whenever humans engage in an exercise activity (such as running or push-ups), their bodies will naturally demand for more energy. This demand for more energy will equally trigger more demand for oxygen and nutrients. As a result, the body will be required to start a process that will ensure that adequate blood is transported or pumped around the body so as to reach all the cells and tissues faster. To do this, To do this, the body send a signal to the heart -- a signal that will immediately increase the heart rate. To promote a better understanding of this process, it is worth taking a brief look at some numerical explanations as follows:
1. Whenever the human heart beats (contraction) it automatically squeezes an average of 70 milliliters of blood into the human body. This process is, in scientific parlance, is termed the stroke volume (Allaby, 2011; Davis, 2000; Goleman & Gunn, 1993; Hawkins, 1993; Hanbly & Muir, 1997 ).
2. When an adult human being is at rest, his/her will have an average heart rate that ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute (Allaby, 2011; Davis, 2000; Goleman & Gunn, 1993; Hawkins, 1993; Hanbly & Muir, 1997; Howell & Whitehead, 1989; Kowalski, 1992 ).
3. In other words, if we use, say 75 as the average beat per minute (bpm) as our yardstick, then it implies that when a human body is at rest, it generally pumps about 5250 milliliters of blood (75 x 70) around the body per minute;
4. When a human being is engaged in some form of exercise, the heart rate will increase. Assuming that the heart rate increased to 140 beats per minute. Then the quantity of blood that would be pumped around the body, known as the cardiac output, will become: 140 x 70 = 9800 milliliters per minute;
5. 5. The above explanations closely mirrored the fact that the quantity of blood which the human heart pump and distributes around the body for a period of one minute almost double when an individual is engaged in any form of physical exercise. Given the fact that the total quantity of blood in a typical human being at a particular time always stays the same, then the most practical way which the heart can double the quantity of blood it pumps within the body is by accelerating their movement.
Before living this section it will be important to elaborate a little on the ventilation rate. Ventillation rate is term used to describe the rate at which air moves in and out of the lungs. For a healthy adult human being, the ventilation rate connotes the number of breaths taken within a given amount of time (Allaby, 2011; Davis, 2000; Goleman & Gunn, 1993; Hawkins, 1993; Hanbly & Muir, 1997; Howell & Whitehead, 1989; Kowalski, 1992; O'Hara, 1995; Science Buddies, 1995). For a healthy adult, the average ventilation rate is about 12 breaths per minute. Ventllation rate is considered important because it can be an indicator of respiratory function or disfunction.
Having established some theoretical foundations from the above explanations, I will now present the procedures for this experiment.
Equipments
1. Heart Rate Monitor
2. Notebook
3. Pencil
4. Stopwatch
Pre-Lab Questions
1. How will the heart rate change when an individual is engaged in a moderate exercise?
2. What is the mean heart rate during and after moderate exercise?
3. What is the average ventilation rate during and after a moderate exercise?
4. Is there a positive relationship between ventilation rate and heart rate?
Method/Procedure
I selected 14 children (age 6 -- 12 years) in my neighborhood after consulting with their parents regarding my experiment. With their parents watching, I used the heart monitor to measure their heart rate at rest and after a moderate exercise, which in this case is running a short distance in our neighborhood. I also used a stop watch to measure their ventilation rate. The data collected were recorded on table 1 below. The data presented in table 1 were used to plot the Table 1 -- Heart and Ventillation Rate Data Values
Subject
Heart Rate at Rest (bpm)
Heart Rate After Moderate
Exercise (bpm)
Ventillation at Rest
(bpm)
Ventillation Rate After Moderate Exercise
(bpm)
1
75
97
19
30
2.
22
32
3.
78
25
32
4.
96
18
35
5.
91
24
31
6.
68
27
40
7.
18
31
8.
81
20
32
9.
94
20
44
10.
83
27
30
11.
78
29
45
12.
22
40
13.
80
88
25
39
14.
96
22
32
Mean
89.64
22.71
35.21
graphs shown in figures 1 and 2 below. A natural question to ask at this point is this: what can these data tell us about the effect of exercise on the heart rate and on the ventilation rate? Answering this question will help to answer the questions presented on the "Pre-Lab Section" above. Broadly speaking, the table and the graphs tells us that:
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