Cardiovascular System Lab Report

Abstract:

What is fitness? How is it defined? An individual’s level of fitness is dependent on a plethora of variables. Many people will automatically assume obesity is associated with poor fitness levels, while people with slimmer figures are perceived to be more physically fit. A series of five tests were performed in the experiment that compared the following variables: body mass index, fitness index, resting systolic blood pressure and resting diastolic blood pressure. When testing the hypotheses, four tests supported the ideas and one did not. Out of the five comparisons only one proved to be statistically significant and the rest were insignificant in the data results.

Introduction:

In this lab, an assessment of the human homeostatic mechanisms will be performed in order to determine fitness level. The

Three activities are performed that best illustrate how the cardiovascular system works. The activities have to do with listening for heart sounds, and feeling for pulses in peripheral locations on the body, such as wrist or arm. The reason heart rate is determined is because the quality of the pulse, the regularity and strength, is usually an indicator of cardiovascular function. Blood pressure is also measured indirectly, such as with a medical instrument. The arterial blood pressure is taken because it determines the heart’s condition the health of the blood vessels. The systolic and diastolic blood pressures are taken with a sphygmomanometer. The average resting systolic BP for young adults is ~120mmHg. The resting diastolic BP for young adults is ~70mmHg. Then, with the results of these