Cardiovascular system Physical education GCSE

What is the Cardiovascular system made up of?

The Cardiovascular system is made up of:

• The heart
• The blood
• The blood vessels.
  

Define the red blood cells, the white blood cells and the plasma.

Red Blood Cells

• erythocytes
• disc shaped
• made in the bone marrow of long bones
• transport oxygen to the tissues
• Haemoglobin + oxygen = oxyhaemoglobin.

White blood cells

• levocytes
• bigger than red with a big nuclei.
• act as the body's defence system, some surrond and consume harmful microbes.
• some produce chemicals called antibodies which fight infection

Plasma

• made up of 90% water, inorganic salts, glucose, antibodies, urea + other waste products and plasma proteins.
  

Define:

• Heart rate
• stroke volume
• cardiac output
• blood pressure
  

• Heart rate = the amount of times the heart beats in a minute.
• stroke volume = the amount of blood ejected from each ventricle by one contraction.
• Cardiac output = the amount of blood ejected from the heart per minute.
• Blood pressure = the pressure that the blood exerts against the artery walls.
  

Define systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure and the difference between them

• Systolic blood pressure: the highest pressure within the blood stream during each heartbeat.
• Diastolic blood pressure: the lowest pressure withing the blood stream occuring between heart beats.
• The difference: the pulse pressure.

Define the 3 types of blood vessels:

• arteries
• capillaries
• veins

Arteries

• carry blood away from the heart
• thick muscular walls
• small passageways for blood (internal lumen)
• contain blood under high pressure.

Capillaries

• found in muscles and lungs.
• microscopic - one cell thick.
• very low blood pressure
• where gas exhange happens

Veins

• carry blood to the heart
• thin walls
• larger internal lumen
• contains blood under low pressure
• valves to prevent the blood flowing backwards

What are the short term effects of exercise?

• Increased heart rate - working muscles require more nutrients and oxygen.
• Breathing becomes deeper and faster - the body need more oxygen to supply the lungs.
• Increased body temp - sweats to cool down.
• Sweating - as the temp rises the pores of the skin release sweat.
• Muscles begin to ache - more demand for oxygen and faster production of lactid acid.
  

What are the long term effects of exercise?

• Decreased resting heartrate - heart becomes bigger and stronger and can pump the same amount of blood with less beats.
• Decreased recovery rate - the faster the recovery, the fitter the person.
• Increased stroke volume - exercise enables to heart to become more efficent.
• Changes to cardiac output - altered through changed to stroke volume and heart rate.
• Decreased blood pressure - due to regular exercise.
• Healthy blood vessels - exercise increases the amount of capillaries in the heart.