1. Long term responses of exercise on the cardiovascular system
Cardiovascular system: cardiac hypertrophy; increase in stroke volume; increase in cardiac output, decrease in resting heart rate; capillarisation; increase in blood volume; reduction in resting blood pressure; decreased recovery time; increased aerobic fitness

2. The Grades
Look at the different descriptions below, and research as far as you feel you need to:
If you want to get a Pass, simply
Describe what happens to the cardiovascular system when we start to exercise, and after 6 weeks of training.
If you want to get a Merit,
Extend your description to include an explanation of how the cardiovascular system responds when we start to exercise and after 6 weeks of training.
You will need to provide some examples from sport in general and football in particular here.

3. Cardiac Hypertrophy Increase in the size of the heart
Increase in thickness of the myocardium
Allows left ventricle to fill more completely during diastole
Larger ventricular wall
Can contract more forcefully
Pumps more blood into the systemic system
More efficient heart
Endurance athletes tend to have larger ventricular cavities, whilst anaerobic athletes have thicker ventricular walls.
Endurance athletes have larger ventricle cavities and Anaerobic athletes have thicker ventricle walls.

4. Stroke Volume
Due to Cardiac hypertrophy, this increases both at rest and during exercise.
Greatest amongst endurance athletes
Increased size of ventricular cavity
Up to 140ml per beat
Improved contractility of the myocardium
In trained athlete at rest:
EDV 130, ESV 40, SV 90
In untrained athlete at rest
EDV 130, ESV 60, SV 70

5. Heart Rate Resting heart rate untrained – 80bpm
Resting heart rate athlete – 60bpm
Resting elite endurance athlete – 35bpm
Bradycardia
When h.r. falls below 60bpm
Due to a slowing of the rate of the S.A. node
Lance Armstrong 35bpm
Steve Redgrave 45bpm
Cardiac output
At rest – Same for athlete & non athlete
Therefore, athlete has increased stroke volume
During exercise much larger for trained athlete

6. Capillarisation Blood pressure Of trained muscles
New capillaries may develop
Existing capillaries become more efficient.
Brings about more efficient delivery of blood to working muscles
More O2 reaches the muscles
Blood pressure
Decreases, particularly at rest
Mainly from endurance training
Blood pressure at a maximal or sub-maximal level remains unchanged

7. Increase in blood plasma
Vasculature efficiency
Particularly in the arteries
More efficient vasodilation & vasoconstriction
Improves redistribution of blood
Better at shunting to active muscles
Increase in blood plasma
Increases blood volume
Decreases blood viscosity
Blood flows more easily
Enhances delivery of O2 to the muscles