Systolic Blood Pressure and Mean Arterial Pressure - Essay Example

diastolic pressure (the lowest pressure in the artery) at rest was measured at 70 but decreased to 50 and then 40 at 1 kg and 2.5 kg workloads respectively. Diastolic pressure is a result of ventricular diastole or relaxation and this pattern was observed because the arteries in the working muscles started to dilate rather than constrict. The decrease in the diastolic pressure observed was a result of working at a less-than-maximum heart rate.

In the same observation, the heart rate at rest was measured at 61. This measurement spiked to 108 and 147 at 1kg and 2.5kg workloads respectively. This increase in heart rate during exercise was a result of the withdrawal of vagus nerve tone & sympathetic stimulation of the heart. Resting heart rates and maximum heart rates differ from one person to another depending on age, gender, and fitness level. The double product (also called the rate pressure product – RPP) is obtained by multiplying the heart rate by the systolic blood pressure. Since both the heart rate and the systolic blood pressure increased with increased activity during the experiment, the double product inevitably also increased from 6,710.00 (at rest) to 12, 960.00 (at 1kg workload) and finally 20, 580.00 (at 2.5kg workload).

The mean arterial pressure (MAP) is the average arterial pressure in a single cycle (the average blood pressure in an individual). It is obtained from the addition of the product of the cardiac output and systemic vascular resistance to the central venous pressure. In the experiment, the mean arterial pressure at rest was 83.33 at rest then dropped at steadied at 73.33 during both 1kg and 2.5 kg workloads. The mean arterial pressure is observed to stay constant because the increased flow of blood through exercising muscles is compensated for remarkably well by increased cardiac output and adjustments to arterioles. Read More