2.2 - Cardiovascular System Flashcards
What does the heart do?
The heart is a muscular pump that pumps blood away from the heart around the body through a system of arteries which take oxygen rich blood and nutrients to the muscles to allow them to work.
What is the process of gaseous exchange?
The blood picks up carbon dioxide [a waste product) from the muscles and carries this back to the heart in veins. From there it is pumped to the lungs where it is breathed out and in exchange oxygen is breathed in.
Why does gaseous exchange take place?
It takes place because muscles need energy in the form of oxygen and nutrients to produce movement. Carbon dioxide and other waste products are produced when we exercise. The cardiovascular system enables us to get rid of the waste products and supplies the muscles with the oxygen and nutrients they need to continue to work.
Define blood pressure
The force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of the blood vessels
Define cardiac output
The amount of blood ejected from the heart in one minute.
Define stroke volume
The volume of blood pumped out of the heart by each ventricle during one contraction.
What are the short term effects of exercise on the cardiovascular system?
Increased heart rate Increased stroke volume Blood diverted to muscles Blood temperature rises Blood vessels near skin open to allow heat to be lost.
What are the two types of blood pressure?
Systolic and diastolic
What is systolic blood pressure?
Systolic is the high pressure measured when the blood is pumped out of the heart to go around the body. This high number rises during exercise and falls during sleep.
What is diastolic blood pressure?
Diastolic pressure is when the heart relaxes between beats, so this is the low number on a reading.
What are the short term effects of exercise on the cardiovascular system?
Heart muscle increases in size and strength.
Cardiac output increases.
Lower resting heart rate, quicker recovery from exercise.
Increased number of capillaries in muscles.
Increased volume of blood and red blood cells.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a fatty substance carried in the blood by lipoproteins
What are the two types of lipoproteins?
HDL (high density lipoprotein)
LDL (low density lipoprotein).
What is the good type of cholesterol?
HDL is known as the ‘good’ cholesterol because it takes cholesterol away from the blood vessels.
What is the bad type of cholesterol, what effect does it have?
LDL, or ‘bad’ cholesterol, builds up in the arteries, making them less flexible and making it more difficult for the blood to pass through. If a clot eventually forms then the blood cannot pass through and a heart attack or a stroke can occur.
