Heart Rate And Oxygen Uptake

Heart Rate And Oxygen Uptake

The cardiovascular and respiratory systems are connected in such a way that neither can work without the other. These two systems work together to allow metabolism to occur in all body systems, delivering oxygen and removing waste.

Oxygen consumption

Oxygen consumption, abbreviated as VO2, is a measure of the volume of oxygen used by the body. VO2, as described by Dr. Benjamin Levine, is based on the Fick equation, which says that oxygen consumption depends on the product between delivery and extraction of oxygen. Oxygen extraction considers the amount of oxygen in the arterial blood that is sent to metabolically active tissues and the amount of oxygen in venous blood that returns to the heart. The difference between the arterial oxygen content and the venous oxygen content ends the amount of oxygen that was used by the tissues. Oxygen delivery, on the other hand, is a measure of cardiac function, of cardiac output specifically. The cardiac output determines the amount of blood pumped from the heart in each beat. Cardiac output is the product between heart rate and stroke volume, or the amount of blood pumped per heartbeat.

According to Levine, oxygen consumption is limited to a greater extent by the delivery of oxygen instead of oxygen extraction. This places great emphasis on the interaction between VO2 and heart rate and emphasizes the importance of the interaction between the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

The increase in consumption

"Physiology of Sport and Exercise" says that everyone has the same oxygen consumption during rest due to determined body weight. However, when an individual moves from a state of rest to one in exercise, the body demands more oxygen so that the metabolic processes can satisfy the demand for energy. Naturally, as the body moves from rest to exercise, the heart rate begins to slowly increase. This cardiovascular response allows for faster oxygen delivery to the working tissue, such as skeletal muscle, that experiences an increase in oxygen consumption.

Decrease in oxygen consumption

Diseases of the cardiovascular system tend to cause a decrease in oxygen consumption that limits the individual's ability to perform physical activity. The nature of heart failure, for example, prevents the heart from increasing its heart rate appropriately. Without the increase in heart rate, oxygen delivery and consumption are limited. The creator of the Weber heart failure classification system, Dr. Karl Weber, has shown that in severe cardiac insufficiencies, oxygen extraction is improved to compensate for the decrease in oxygen delivery.This research highlights the important relationship between oxygen consumption and oxygen delivery factors.

Elite athletes

While exercise generally increases oxygen delivery, the cardiovascular system has the potential to outpace the respiratory system. Research published by Dr. Scott Powers in "Sports Medicine" examines the effects of increased heart rate. When blood travels through the lungs at a high speed, there is little time for oxygen to leave the lung and enter the blood. This means that the blood carries less oxygen than normal, a condition called hypoxia, and consequently delivers less oxygen than the body demands. Hypoxemic conditions generally lead to fainting due to lack of oxygen in the brain and other vital organs. This illustrates the delicate balance that must be maintained between the cardiovascular and respiratory systems so that oxygen consumption is maximized.

Other variables

While heart rate plays an integral role in oxygen consumption, stroke volume, the second factor in oxygen delivery, has been shown to have a much greater effect on VO2. Many variables can increase the amount of blood a person pumps in each beat, while the changes in exercising the heart rate are minimal. The adaptability of the systolic pump makes it a more prominent variable in the determination of maximum oxygen consumption. To determine the limits of oxygen consumption, both oxygen delivery variables are important.

Video Tutorial: How to maintain HEART RATE 48-51 BPM and increase BLOOD OXYGEN LEVEL to 97- 99%.

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