The Circulatory System and You Blood pressure, heart rate, and health
Blood pressure Pressure inside the blood stream Usually measured at the upper arm Should be under 120/80
What does 120/80 mean? Measures of pressure (mmHg) Shown as: SYSTOLIC / DIASTOLIC (Heart contracted / Heart relaxed)
EKG measuring heart activity Peak = Systol = heart fully contracted Low point = Diastol = heart fully relaxed
Heart rate How many times your heart beats per minute (bpm) Should be between 60 and 80 at rest Can get to 180 or even 200 during extreme activity
Heart rate varies Genetics Exercise Smoking Excitement
Lance Armstrong Has one of the lowest resting heart rates recorded: 32 Meaning his heart pumps so hard that it only needs to contract about half as much!
Check your heart rate Press on the blood vessels on the inside of your wrist or neck with 2 fingers Count how many beats you feel in 1 minute (or 30s and multiply by 2) How did you do?
Target heart rate Generally: (220 – age) x intensity For a 40 year old at 85% intensity: (220 – 40) x 0.85 = 153 bpm
Maximum heart rate Roughly: 220 – age For example, at 18 years old 220 – 18 = 202 So you generally shouldn’t ever exceed 200 for safety.