Virtual lab 3B- Blood pressure and pulse

Demonstrate how to determine a subject's blood pressure using a sphygmomanometer (what is a sphygmomanometer?).

A sphygmomanometer is a device that measures blood pressure. cuff is inflated to well above expected systolic pressure. As the valve is opened, cuff pressure (slowly) decreases. When the cuff's pressure equals the arterial systolic pressure, blood begins to flow past the cuff, creating blood flow turbulence and audible sounds. Using a stethoscope, these sounds are heard and the cuff's pressure is recorded. The blood flow sounds will continue until the cuff's pressure falls below the arterial diastolic pressure. The pressure when the blood flow sounds stop indicates the diastolic pressure.

Use the stethoscope to auscultate heart sounds and relate the sounds of the heart to the events of the cardiac cycle. Describe the clinical significance of heart murmurs.

Listen at the apex. At the base (the part of the heart between the apex and the sternum) In the aortic and pulmonary areas to the right and left of the sternum, respectively.Murmurs are additional sounds generated by turbulent blood flow in the heart and blood vessels. Murmurs may be systolic, diastolic or continuous.

Define pulse, pulse pressure, pulse deficit, blood pressure, sounds of Korotkoff, and MAP.

Pulse: A rhythmic throbbing of the arteries as blood is propelled through them. Typically felt in the wrist or neck. Pulse Pressure: Top number (systolic) minus the bottom number (diastolic) example 120/80=40mmHg Pulse Deficit: Weak heartbeats that are not reaching periphrral arterys and are too weak to be palpated Blood Pressure: The pressure of blood in the circulatory system often measured for diagnosis since it is closely related to the force and rate of the heartbeat and diameter and elasticity of the arterial walls. Sounds of Korotkoff: Arterial sounds heard through a stethoscope applied to the brachial artery distal to the blood pressure cuff that change with varying cuff pressures and that are used to determine systolic and diastolic blood pressure. MAP: Mean arterial pressure: the average arterial pressure throughout one cardiac cycle.

Discuss the effects of exercise on blood pressure, pulse, and cardiovascular fitness.

Regular physical activity makes your heart stronger. A stronger heart can pump more blood with less effort. If your heart can work less to pump, the force on your arteries decreases, lowering your blood pressure. When you are exercising, your muscles need extra oxygen—some three times as much as resting muscles. This need means that your heart starts pumping faster, which makes for a quicker pulse. Meanwhile, your lungs are also taking in more air, hence the harder breathing. Acutely, exercise increases cardiac output and blood pressure, but individuals adapted to exercise show lower resting heart rate and cardiac hypertrophy.

Be able to define systole, diastole, and cardiac cycle.

Systole: The phase of the heartbeat when the heart muscle contracts and pumps blood from the chambers into the arteries Diastole: The phase of the heartbeat when the heart muscles relax and allows the chambers to fill with blood. Cardiac Cycle: The performance of the human heart from the beginning of one heartbeat to the beginning of the next. Containing two periods one where the muscles realx and fills with blood (diastole) and contraction and pumping blood (systole)

Indicate the normal length of the cardiac cycle, understand the relative pressure changes that occur within the atria and ventricles, understand where valve closure occurs during the cardiac cycle, and describe the volume changes in the ventricles (See Figure 33.1).

The average adult at rest has 65-75 heartbeats (cardiac cycles per min). One cardiac cycle takes about .8 seconds. Arterial systole where the atria contracts and ejects blood into the ventricles last about .1 sec. At the end of diastole, the atria contract, squirting a small amount of extra blood into the ventricles. This increases the ventricles' pressure so that it is now higher than that in the atria, causing the atrioventricular valves (mitral/tricuspid) to close.

Relate systolic and diastolic pressures to events of the cardiac cycle.

They occur as the heart beats, pumping blood through a system of blood vessels that carry blood to every part of the body. Systole occurs when the heart contracts to pump blood out, and diastole occurs when the heart relaxes after contraction.

Correlate the events of the ECG with the events of the cardiac cycle.

both the atria and ventricles are relaxed (diastole). The P wave represents depolarization of the atria and is followed by atrial contraction (systole). Atrial systole extends until the QRS complex, at which point, the atria relax. The QRS complex represents depolarization of the ventricles and is followed by ventricular contraction. The T wave represents the repolarization of the ventricles and marks the beginning of ventricular relaxation.