PULSE RATE

In this portion of the experiment, the pulse rates of several individuals were taken in one
minute by counting the number of pulses produced by the radial artery of the wrist. The
following data were obtained:
Table 1. Pulse rates of different individuals
Tested Individuals
Trial 1
Age
Female child, 5 75
years old
Male teenager, 70
17 years old
Male adult, 50 80
years old
Sex
Male, 17 years 70
old
Female,
20 75
years old
Activity
Male
with 53
regular training,
20 years old
Male with no 64
training,
20
years old
Female
122
subjected to 10
minutes
of
exercise,
20
years old
Others
Pregnant
80
female on first
trimester

Trial 2
74

Trial 3
74

Average
74.3

71

70

70.3

80

81

80.3

71

71

70.7

75

78

76

53

53

53

64

65

64.3

96

82

100

80

80

80

The pulse is the rhythmic expansion and contraction of an artery caused by the impact of
blood that is pumped by the heart (specifically, by contraction of the left ventricle). The arteries
resemble elastic tubes that receive 30 to 60 grams of blood (even if the vessels are already filled
with fluid). It is felt wherever an artery passes over a solid structure, such as bone or cartilage.
Counting the pulse rate is usually an indirect measure to assess the heart rate of an
individual, and normally, the pulse rate is equal to the heart rate. The pulse rate can tell about the
health and state of an individual. In this experiment, the resting heart rate, or the rate at which the
heart beats when it is relaxed, was measured with exceptions of activities performed by the
individuals to test their pulse rates.

The tested individuals differ by age, sex, activity, and physiological state (pregnancy).
The individuals were differentiated based on these criteria.
For the age category, it was seen that the adult has the highest pulse rate, followed by the
child, and lastly, the teenager. This was a case worth the exception. It is reported that as people
age, the pulse rate gradually decreases. Typically, too, children have higher pulse rates than their
older counterparts. In this experiment, however, we saw that the adult has a higher pulse rate
than normal.
The younger the child, the smaller their hearts. Therefore, they show a higher level of
pulse rate regardless of the given level of activity, as the smaller heart has to compensate for the
maintenance of homeostasis in the body. A smaller heart also means a smaller stroke volume per
cycle. Stroke volume is the amount of blood ejected by the left ventricle in one contraction. A
sufficient amount of blood is needed by the organs of the body to meet metabolic demands. If
this concept follows, then bigger animals have bigger stroke volumes, and more blood can reach
their destinations in a single beat. But since smaller hearts have less stroke volume, the heart
compensates by pulsing faster so the blood can reach its destinations at the same amount. Also,
the distances of the organs and destinations of the blood of smaller animals are smaller, so a
single beat can happen faster. As an individual grows, their pulse rates decrease, as their hearts
grow bigger and can provide sufficient amounts of blood to specific destinations in a single
pump. This was observed in the results taken: the child had a higher pulse rate than the teenager.
The adult man, although has a significantly higher pulse rate than both the child and
teenager, actually still borders the normal range for the pulse rate, which tells us that he is still
healthy. A normal pulse rate is between 60 beats to 100 beats per minute. High pulse rates when
resting can be linked to certain diseases related to the heart. A heart rate of more than 100 beats
per minute is known as tachychardia. When the heart is beating too slow, usually less than 60
beats per minute, the condition for this is known as bradychardia.
Females and males have different pulse rates as well. The female heart is anatomically
smaller than the male heart. This can lead us to the conclusion that the female heart must have a
higher pulse rate than the male heart to compensate for the smaller stroke volume. The average
male heart rate is between 70 and 72 beats per minute, while the average female heart rate is
between 78 and 82 beats per minute. Both the rates taken from the tested indivuals meet the
normal ranges.
Athletes with regular training have lower pulse rates than that of non-athletes. An
explanation for this phenomenon may be attributed to the fact that regular exertion of the heart
due to rigorous exercise has induced the left ventricle of the heart to enlarge. Particularly,
consistent strength exercises makes the walls of the left ventricle to increase, and consistent
endurance exercises makes the left ventricle chamber increase as well. This would mean that the
heart does not need to exert as much effort as usual to meet the metabolic demands of the organs
for blood, making it less needed to pump as usual. The changes in the left ventricle allow it to
pump more blood with each beatas an athlete exercises, his muscles work harder and muscle
contraction in the active movement pushes blood back into the circulatory system, making his
heart work harder. Increasing blood flow increases heartbeat, but because the heart muscles of
the athletes are conditioned, their hearts pump more blood per beat. This makes an athletes
maximum heart rate and resting heart rate below the pace of the average heart rate.

For a person who had finished an exercise, however, has varying heart rates in order to
return it to the normal heart rate, which is the rate of the heart at rest. The heart recovery rate is
the rate at which your heart beats return to normal after stopping of exercising.
In the experiment, it was seen that there was a huge increase in the pulse rate of the
individual who exercised, but as time progressed, the pulse rate decreased. The pulse rate
increases when the muscles work harder during exercise. The muscles require an increased
amount of oxygen to maintain the energy demanded by the exercise. Therefore, the heart
compensates by increasing the heart rate to pump more blood into the system, and so that the
blood reaches the muscles faster than usual.
If the exercise is stopped, however, the body slowly normalizes, and the muscles exert
less force than usual, requiring it lesser blood. The heart compensates by slowing the heart rate to
lessen the amount of blood that reaches the muscles as the muscles do not need additional
oxygen anymore.
A pregnant woman would notably have a higher pulse rate than if she were not pregnant,
as the increased metabolic activities that include hers and the child inside her require more blood.
Her body needs to supply oxygen to the fetus through the placenta, and supply her own body as
well. Therefore, it is expected that the heart pump more blood than usual to compensate for these
changes in her body. A woman in her first trimester would have a lower pulse rate than a woman
in her last trimester. In the last trimester, the fetus has become a full-grown baby, and the mother
must provide more blood for the baby. The heart rate also continually elevates in preparation for
labor.

BLOOD PRESSURE
A 20 year old female was used as the subject for this experiment. Her blood pressure was
taken before and after exercising for 30 minutes, and after resting for 30 minutes. The result were
as follows:
Table 2. Blood pressure data
Time taken
Before exercising

After exercising

Blood pressure

110/70

120/80

After resting for 30

minutes
120/80

Arterial blood pressure is the force exerted by the blood on the wall of the blood vessel as
the heart pumps and relaxes. A higher pressure number would mean a higher resistance between
the blood and the artery walls. There are two kinds of blood pressure: systolic blood pressure and
diastolic blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure is the degree of force when the heart is
pumping, while diastolic blood pressure is the degree of force when the heart is relaxed.
A sphygmomanometer is used to measure the blood pressure of an individual. A cuff with
an inflatable rubber bag is wrapped and centered around ones arm, exactly where the brachial
artery is located. Air pressure is pumped into the cuff close to the artery, and air pressure is

release by opening the thumb valve. If the pressure in the cuff equalizes with the pressure of the
artery, the artery opens and blood begins to return to the part of the artery that was closed.
As the blood returns to the artery, it is then that the pulse sounds that is heard in a
stethoscope begins. The readings in the manometer would show the systolic pressure at the first
pulse, and the last sound is the diastolic pressure.
Before exercising, it is expected that a normal blood pressure be obtained when using the
sphygmomanometer. The results show a normal blood pressure obtained, which was 120/80 mm
Hg. The blood pressure would rise and fall depending on the kind of exercise performed. Aerobic
exercises typically increase the heart rate, which increases the pressure with which the blood is
pumped, raising the systole. The diastole remains stable at this point. Isometric exercises like
weightlifting require constant muscle contraction with no increase in cardiac output, thereby
resulting in a rise in both systole and diastole.
However, after exercise, it is normal for the blood pressure to fall below normal levels,
then return to normal after rest. This was what was observed with the tested individual. If
exercise is stopped, the heart slows down, decreasing blood circulation. This makes the blood
pressure fall. The blood pressure normalizes after increased periods of rest, as the heart goes
back to its resting heart rate.
SOURCES:
Westat, Inc. 1989. Pulse and Blood Pressure Procedures for Household Interviewers.
Retrieved November 24, 2016 from:
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhanes/nhanes3/cdrom/nchs/manuals/pressure.pdf