You have two subject\'s who have both undertaken an exercise training program. O

Question

You have two subject's who have both undertaken an exercise training program. One subject brings you her training log and you notice that her blood pressure is constantly increasing (both systolically and diastolically) during exercise, while the second subject shows a moderate increase in systolic blood pressure and little or no change in diastolic blood pressure during exercise. Assuming both subjects are healthy with no cardiac or circulatory problems, explain to me why both subjects are experiencing normal responses to exercise.

Explanation / Answer

At rest, a typical systolic blood pressure in a healthy individual ranges from 110-140mmHg and 60-90mmHg for diastolic blood pressure.

During exercise systolic pressure, the pressure during contraction of the heart (known as systole) can increase to over 200mmHg and levels as high as 250mmHg have been reported in highly trained, healthy athletes.

Diastolic pressure on the other hand remains relatively unchanged regardless of exercise intensity. In fact an increase of more than 15 mm Hg as exercise intensity increases can indicate coronary heart disease.

Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure can rise to high, even though brief, levels during resistance exercise.

--So, the first subject may having coronary heart disease, due to which her both systolic and diastolic pressure are increasing. But they say that subjects are devoid of heart diseases which confers that they are undergoing resistant exercise.

--In the second subject, he is showing a moderate increase in systolic blood pressure and little or no change in diastolic blood pressure during exercise, which confers that he is healthy.

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