Cardiovascular Physiology Lab Report Assistant
This document is not meant to be a substitute for a formal laboratory report. The Lab Report Assistant is simply a summary of the experiment's questions, diagrams if needed, and data tables that should be addressed in a formal lab report. The intent is to facilitate students' writing of lab reports by providing this information in an editable file which can be sent to an instructor.
Exercise 1: Measuring Resting and Exercising Heart Rates
Data Table 1: Heart Rate Measurements.
|
Activity
|
Palpation location
|
Number of pulses in 20 seconds
|
Heart rate
(beats per minute)
|
|
Seated
|
Radial
|
|
|
|
Brachial
|
|
|
|
Carotid
|
|
|
|
Average for Seated:
|
|
|
|
Standing
|
Radial
|
|
|
|
Brachial
|
|
|
|
Carotid
|
|
|
|
Average for Standing:
|
|
|
|
Exercising
|
Radial
|
|
|
Questions-
A. An individual's pulse may be found in multiple locations throughout the body. When might it be necessary to check the pulse of an individual in the dorsalis pedis artery (the artery on the dorsal foot) instead of the carotid artery?
B. At which location did your pulse feel the strongest? Where did it feel the weakest?
C. Did your pulse change when standing? Why do you think a change did or did not occur?
D. Considering the different locations at which you measured your pulse, was there a difference in pulse during seated rest or during standing rest? Why do you think this did or did not occur?
E. Specifically, what happens physiologically to cause heart rate to increase during exercise?
Exercise 2: Measuring Blood Pressure in a Seated Position
Data Table 2: Blood Pressure at Rest.
|
Trial
|
Systolic/Diastolic Pressure
|
|
Seated, Resting
|
|
|
Seated, After Stress Ball Exercise
|
|
Questions-
A. What is a normal reading for systolic and diastolic blood pressure?
B. Why may resting blood pressure be high in an individual?
C. What happens to blood pressure after exercise?
Exercise 3: Reading ECGs
Data Table 3: Characteristics of Abnormal Heart Rhythms.
|
ECG Readings
|
What is visually different in the ECG reading from normal sinus rhythm?
|
Based on the visual differences from normal sinus rhythm in the ECG, what can you conclude has happened to the heart?
|
|
Nodal rhythm
|
|
|
|
Heart block
|
|
|
|
Atrial flutter
|
|
|
|
Atrial fibrillation
|
|
|
|
Ventricular fibrillation
|
|
|
Questions-
A. Consider the way that muscle is stimulated to move and the way that the heart is stimulated to move. Based on the positions of the electrodes, what might some challenges be to measuring ECG signals during exercise?
B. What is ventricular fibrillation, and how would that affect the delivery of blood to the body?
C. What is atrial fibrillation and how would that affect the delivery of blood to the body?
D. What is a P wave?
E. When do the ventricles contract on a normal ECG reading?