WJEC/Eduqas GCSE PE Personal Fitness Programme: Student Companion

Self-analysis 3 Blood pressure (BP) Blood pressure is the force (pressure) exerted by blood against the arterial walls during a cardiac cycle (heartbeat). The cardiac cycle consists of heart muscle contraction ( systole ) and heart muscle relaxation ( diastole ). There are two measurements when recording blood pressure: • Systolic blood pressure , which is the higher of the two pressure measurements, this occurs as the heart muscles contract pumping blood into the aorta . • Diastolic blood pressure , which is when the heart muscles relax, allowing the heart to re ll with blood and is the lowest pressure. Ideal systolic blood pressure in an adult varies between 90 and 120 mm Hg, and ideal diastolic pressure varies between 60 and 80 mm Hg (see Figure 3.2). 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 70 Diastolic (number in mm Hg) High blood pressure Pre-high blood pressure Ideal blood pressure Low 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 Systolic (number in mm Hg) 150 160 170 180 190 Figure 3.2 A graph showing blood pressure ranges Hear t rate (HR) Your heart rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute (b.p.m.). A normal heart rate is between 60 and 100 b.p.m. while you are resting. Generally, a lower resting heart rate indicates a higher level of cardiovascular tness. The average person has a resting heart rate of between 70 and 75 beats per minute (b.p.m.). Fitter people who take part in lots of aerobic exercise have resting heart rates around 50 and 60 b.p.m. Some professional athletes have resting heart rates as low as the upper 30s! You will be familiar with reading from graphs in your mathematics studies. 27