Cardiovascular Functioning During Exercise Lab Reporting

Cardiovascular Functioning During Exercise Lab Reporting

In science, reporting what has been done in a laboratory setting is incredibly important for communicating, replicating, and validating findings. However, writing scientific reports can be a little overwhelming. There is a set of agreed-upon components that the scientific community requires when reporting scientific experimentation. Answer the following questions to describe what occurred during the lab you conducted in Labster. Be sure to use complete sentences and descriptions that fully represent what you experienced. Writing a lab report is less about being correct or incorrect than it is accurately reporting what happened and why. So, do not worry about reporting data that might seem counterintuitive or unexpected. Focus on clearly communicating what you did and what you observed.

TITLE:

What was the title of the lab you completed?

Cardiovascular Function during Exercise

PROBLEM:

What was the problem you were trying to resolve in the Lab?

Determining how the human cardiovascular system behaves at rest and at different exercise intensities.

HYPOTHESIS:

What information from the textbook and classroom is relevant to the problem you were trying to resolve in the lab? Identify the concepts and explain how they are related to the lab problem.

The textbook and classroom were relevant to this lab as they provided vital information for understanding the cardiovascular system. In particular, the textbook majorly focused on the vascular part of the cardiovascular system. The vascular part comprises arteries and veins, vessels that transport blood throughout the body and form physical sites where gases, nutrients, and other substances are exchanged across cells (Betts et al., 2013). The textbook describes the structure and function of these blood vessels and delves into blood flow, blood pressure, and resistance. It explains the measurement of blood pressure and notes that the variables that affect blood flow and blood pressure include cardiac output, compliance, blood volume, blood viscosity, and blood vessel length and diameter.

During the lab, what information from the THEORY section provided additional background information about the problem? (To review the theory section, launch the Lab and click the “Theory” tab on the top of the data pad). Identify the concepts and explain how they are related to the lab problem.

Similarly, the THEORY section provided valuable background information concerning the lab problem. The concepts described in the THEORY section include the Doppler effect, cardiac variables, blood pressure, optimization of oxygen use, total peripheral resistance, and cardiovascular diseases. The Doppler effect refers to the frequency change of a wave as the source of the wave and an observer move towards or away from each other. This effect has medical applications, where the shift in wavelength or frequency is used to determine the velocity of blood flow. Next, cardiac variables include all the variables that help one understand how the cardiovascular system functions. These variables are categorized into three: heart rate (HR), stroke volume (SV), and cardiac output (CO) (Labster Theory, 2019). Subsequently, the THEORY section explains that blood pressure is measured in the arteries of the circulatory system. Arterial blood pressure comprises distinct components, including diastolic and systolic pressures. Diastolic pressure occurs when the heart is relaxed, and blood is flowing from the arteries to the rest of the body. The normal diastolic pressure at rest ranges between 60 and 80 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) (Labster Theory, 2019). The normal systolic pressure at rest ranges between 80 and 120 mm Hg(Labster Theory, 2019).

Further, the section notes that the body optimizes how the oxygen captured in the lungs is used during exercise. Also, the section provides information regarding the total peripheral resistance (TPR), the resistance the circulatory system creates. It notes that TPR is calculated through the formula TPR = MAP (Mean Arterial Pressure) ÷ CO (Cardiac Output).

Most scientific experimentation involves examining variables and their relationships. A variable is a construct that can be changed and studied. Examples of variables are a condition or measurable quantity. What are the variables you examined in the lab? Which one were you controlling and changing? Which one were you observing was impacted by your change?

The variables examined in the lab were blood pressure, heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output during exercise and when at rest. The variables under control were oxygen consumption, heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output, while exercise was the variable that was being changed. I observed how the blood pressure, heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output changed as the exercise intensity was altered.

Developing a hypothesis requires understanding relevant background knowledge. Now that you have described relevant background information, it is time to develop a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a simple statement (not a question) grounded in previous research that predicts the relationship between the variables being studied. Please make a statement that predicts the relationship between the variables being studied.

I developed the following hypotheses for this lab;

The blood pressure increases as the exercise intensifies

The heart rate increases as the exercise intensifies

Stroke volume increases as the exercise intensifies

Cardiac output increases as the exercise intensify

METHOD:

Describing what you did during a lab supports other scientists in replicating your work. It is through this consistent replication that scientists are able to see repeating patterns and develop ideas that help move science forward. When you discuss your data in a later section, you will have to describe what choices you made, why you made them, and any concerns about unexpected things that occurred. In order to have enough information to do this, you need to keep very detailed notes. What doesn’t seem important in the moment may end up being something that explains your findings later. A benefit of conducting virtual labs when learning science is that many potential errors are controlled for you. The virtual lab environment often will alert you if something is not going the way it should. This does not occur in non-virtual settings. The virtual lab setting can be very helpful to learners for this reason. However, we still have to practice documenting so that those skills are practiced for the lab experiences when technology will not be there as a coach.

You have already identified the variables that you studied in the lab in the previous section. Now, take some time to fully define and describe what each variable is and how it was changed throughout the lab.

As already stated, the variables for this lab were the blood pressure, heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output during exercise and when at rest. Heart rate is the number of heartbeats or contractions in one minute (Labster Theory, 2019). Conversely, the stroke volume is the blood volume pumped by the heart in one heartbeat, while the cardiac output is the blood volume the heart pumps per unit of time (Labster Theory, 2019). Notably, the cardiac output is given by multiplying the heart rate and the stroke volume. Accordingly, the changes in the blood pressure, heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output variables were observed at different exercise intensities (low to strenuous).

In 3-5 sentences, summarize what you did during the lab, not including your process of logging into the system. This section would be much more robust for a non-virtual lab. For this virtual lab, a short, high-level summary will suffice.

I explored different study subjects to understand how the cardiovascular system changes during exercise. Next, I measured four cardiovascular variables: blood pressure, heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output. Accordingly, I used the sphygmomanometer to determine the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the study subjects. I also used the stethoscope to listen to the blood flowing through the arteries to determine the study subject’s blood pressure. Next, I used the Doppler ultrasound machine to measure the patient’s heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output. Lastly, I ran an experiment with five patients at once. Then, I measured the variables mentioned above in the patients at different exercise intensities to understand how the cardiovascular system functions and changes with exercise intensity.

Describe some of the observations you made. What numbers did you write down or keep track of? What did each of your senses observe during the lab process? What did you see (ex, changes in colors, movement, shapes, sizes, patterns)? What did you hear (ex, sounds from reactions, collisions, error messages)? What did your lab character touch? Did you notice anything that seemed unexpected? Did you notice anything that you did not expect to observe?

I made several observations. Firstly, I noticed that blood pressure increased as the exercise intensified. However, I noted that the diastolic pressure increased with exercise intensity but reached a plateau at some point, except for Subject E. The same applies to the stroke volume; it increased with exercise intensity but plateaued at a certain point. In addition, I noted that the heart rate and cardiac output increased with exercise intensity. I also noted that oxygen consumption increased eight times during intensified exercise.

Which parts of the lab required you to think more than others and required more time? Which parts were simple and completed easily?

Most parts of the lab were easily completed since I interacted with the LabPad for additional information that provided clarifications. Nonetheless, the chart displaying the results required me to be keen and follow the calculations of cardiac output and stroke volume closely.

DATA & RESULTS:

Many lessons learned as a result of scientific experiments come from the reporting and analysis of data. This part of scientific reporting requires detailed descriptions of technical information and quantities as well as high-level synthesis of information. High-level synthesis requires a mastery of foundational content in the related scientific field and a complimentary mastery in some fields of quantitative and/or qualitative analysis. For this report, let’s focus on big-picture patterns.

What relationships did you notice between the variables you examined? When you changed the variable(s), how did the other(s) change?

I noticed that almost all the cardiac variables had a linear relationship with exercise intensity. For instance, the heart rate and cardiac output increased as the exercise intensified. The blood pressure and stroke volume also increased as the exercise intensified; however, the diastolic pressure and stroke volume reached a plateau at some point.

Did you notice any patterns in your data? Any patterns between the variables?

Regarding the data, I noticed that the diastolic pressure for all patients increased and plateaued at some point except for Subject E. Concerning the variables, I noted that all the cardiac variables increased with exercise intensity.

DISCUSSION:

The discussion section is used to explain why things might have happened the way that they did in your experiment. Here, scientists describe any potential anomalies or mistakes and why they think they may have occurred.

During your lab, what happened that might have impacted the accuracy of your data? Did the simulation alert you that an error was occurring? If so, how did you resolve it?

I did not notice any issue; besides, the simulation did not notify me about any error.

Also, this was a virtual simulation; therefore, possible errors like those regarding accurate measurements and readings were eliminated.

CONCLUSION:

The conclusion section of a lab report describes how the learnings from the lab experimentation fit in to prior scientific knowledge. This is done by comparing new information to previously known information that was identified in the section of your report that discusses background information.

Review the hypothesis section of your report from above and describe how the results of your lab compare to the background information that you discussed before.

I developed four hypotheses for this lab;

The blood pressure increases as the exercise intensifies

The heart rate increases as the exercise intensifies

Stroke volume increases as the exercise intensifies

Cardiac output increases as the exercise intensify

After conducting the experiment and comparing the results with the background information, I confirm that the hypotheses that the heart rate and cardiac output increase as the exercise intensifies are true. Conversely, I reject the hypothesis that blood pressure and stroke volume increase as the exercise intensifies. Although these variables increased with exercise intensity, the diastolic pressure and stroke volume plateaued at some point.

Once scientists have identified how the new knowledge fits into the old knowledge, they discuss the implications of the new information for moving forward. In this class, the purpose of the study is to learn some foundational science ideas represented by the course student learning outcomes. Review the course student learning outcome aligned to this lab in the assignment directions in Blackboard. How is the information from this lab related to the course student learning outcome? What knowledge has the lab supported you with learning that is related to this course’s student learning outcome?

The information from this lab relates to the course student learning outcome regarding understanding how the cardiovascular system functions during exercise. The lab has provided valuable information, including how the cardiovascular system behaves or changes during exercise and how to measure the cardiac variables. Subsequently, I understood how to analyze these variables and how to use the Doppler ultrasound machine, sphygmomanometer, and stethoscope to measure the respective cardiac variables. Finally, I understood how to interpret data and assess possible cardiovascular diseases during exercise.

Following scientific experimentation, scientists usually come up with new questions that result from what they learned. These new questions often end up leading to new experiments in the future. What additional scientific things do you wonder about after completing and writing about your lab experience?

The diastolic pressure for Subject E increased and did not reach a plateau, like in the other patients. Therefore, could this patient have a diastolic abnormality?

References

Betts, J., Wise, J., Young, K., Desaix, P., Johnson, E., & Johnson, J. et al. (2013). Anatomy and Physiology. OpenStax.

Labster Theory. (2019). Welcome to the Cardiovascular Function During Exercise Simulation – Labster Theory. Theory.labster.com. Retrieved 9 October 2022, from https://theory.labster.com/welcome_cve/.

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Labster lab: Cardiovascular Function During Exercise: Learn how your body reacts to exercise

Attached is the lobster lab report to be filled out