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Effects on Blood Pressure Lab Report

Alexa Riley, Sofia Sanchez, Chloe Yates, Salma Gitesatani

Biomed 1b

19 April 2019
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Abstract

The tests performed were used to test the immediate effects exercise can have on the

levels of a person’s blood pressure. Two separate trials were performed, one where the subject

measured blood pressure while at rest, and another after the subject had just exercised. The

results showed a difference in blood pressure after the trials as well as difference in time to lower

to 0. The blood pressure of the subject had an increase in blood pressure after exercise compared

to in a rested state.

Background

After any sort of physical activity, your body starts to go through homeostasis, a part of

this is high blood pressure after the activity. This is because during exercise your body needs

more oxygen to continue the activity, this causes your cardiovascular system to start pumping

blood faster, causing an increase in pressure (healthline). Although blood pressure does increase,

many doctors encourage physical activity to lower blood pressure for long term effects. It is

estimated that hypertension (high blood pressure) affects nearly 24% of the the population across

america (edu). Hypertension is an increase in the pressure of blood pumped through the arteries.

This can cause a hardening of artery walls, which in turn causes a weak flow of blood and

oxygen to the heart with other complications as well (cd.gov). Exercise is recommended to

lower blood pressure by effectively strengthening the heart causing it to use less energy to pump

blood around the body, this causes a decrease in blood pressure (mayo). To test short term effects

of exercise on blood pressure, 2 trials will take place measuring the blood pressure of an

individual before and after exercise. These trials are to test the immediate outcome of exercise on

an individual's blood pressure.

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Hypothesis and Variables

If you exercise then your blood pressure will increase.

Independent Variable- Exercise

Dependent Variable- Blood Pressure

Materials and Methods

-Labquest

-Blood Pressure Monitor (Sphygmomanometer)

-Computer

-Logger Pro

-”Patient”

Once you get all of your materials you first plug in the Labquest your computer. Then,

open the Lopper Pro on your computer, you might need to download it if it's not on your

computer. After, get the “patient” and put the Sphygmomanometer on either one of their biceps.

Then, you pump it up at 20mhg’s above their normal blood pressure. Then, you wait until it

empties the air. Finally, record the data from the Logger Pro onto your Google Doc. Then repeat

with exercise instead of resting.

Results

According to our results, we can observe from the data that after you exercise your blood

pressure will rise. Your blood pressure does not stay the same at all times. For instance, when
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you are exercising or excited, your blood pressure goes up due to your heart pumping faster with

more effort. When you are resting, your blood pressure is lower due to your body not needing as

much oxygen because the muscles are not working out. For example, our graph shows that the

blood pressure starts high at 200 mmHg and decreases rapidly over 100 seconds when at rest. On

the other hand, when you are exercising your blood pressure will start high at 200 mmHg but

will decrease slower over the 100 seconds.

Discussion

The individual’s blood pressure was at a rate of about 116/67 mm Hg. After the

individual had done their exercise, the blood pressure increased to 123/54 mm Hg. The results

came back showing that after exercise, the blood pressure went up. In the background, it was

mentioned that many researched articles, about blood pressure, showed that after exercise, the

blood pressure will go down. The results from this specific experiment came back with the same

results.

In every experiment, there errors could occur. In the experiment that is being

documented, there were no errors, but there was a high chance that there could be. An error that

could have occurred is that the computer may not have correctly read the blood pressure level.

Another error is that the cuff might not have been placed properly. In order to eliminate these

errors from happening, the person that is testing should do a trial run on the individual, that is

being tested, to see if the computer is working properly and if the cuff is placed properly. An

additional experiment can expand on the work to see whether swimming will higher or lower

blood pressure.
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Conclusion

Blood pressure levels increased after exercise compared to the trial taken while the

subject was at rest.

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Blood Pressure at Rest

Systolic 116 mm
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Dialostic 67 mm

Mean 87 mm

Pulse 93 BPM

Blood Pressure after Exercise

Systolic 123 mm

Diastolic 54 mm
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Mean 100 mm

Pulse 138 BPM

Works Cited

Blood Pressure After Exercising: What's Normal, Seeking Help, and Safety. (n.d.). Retrieved

from https://www.healthline.com/health/blood-pressure-after-exercise

Hypotension. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/hypotension

Kravitz, L. (2000). Exercise and Resting Blood Pressure. Retrieved from

https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/restingbp.html

Why exercise is medicine for high blood pressure. (2019, January 09). Retrieved from

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/high-blood

-pressure/art-20045206