Talayah Johnson

Group members: Kaela ,Bria,Carrie

Section 24

The Effect of Gender on Blood Pressure and Pulse

Introduction
Cardio is a word that refers to the heart while vascular refers to of, relating to, affecting,
or consisting of a vessel or vessels, especially those that carry blood. Your cardiovascular system
is a network made up of blood vessels and your heart, which pumps blood and oxygen around
your body. Your cardiovascular system also transports carbon dioxide, a waste product, from
your body to your lungs. When you breathe out, carbon dioxide is removed from your body.
The cardiovascular risk (CVR) is increasing and it is related to lifestyle and dietary
habits. Several investigations provide evidence that women have a lower tolerance to various
conditions of reduced central blood volume compared with men. While it is well documented
that women are generally less tolerant to central hypovolemia than men, the compensatory
mechanisms governing these physiological differences are not fully understood. Lower tolerance
in women is generally associated with less heart rate (HR) response to carotid baroreceptor
stimulation (Convertino, 1998).
Two organ systems are involved in gas exchange; the circulatory system contains the
heart and blood vessels. The respiratory system includes the trachea and bronchial tree. All of
these organs function in the orchestrated fashion to secure that all tissues are sufficiently
oxygenated and excess carbon dioxide is removed. There is a strong appreciation of the
relationship between exercise and gas exchange when we run up a flight of stairs. Heart rates and
blood pressure increase during this exercise and helps to explain how these organ systems
coordinate to patiently and effectively meet the body's metabolic needs. The heart is a big part of
the cardiovascular system. The heart has four chambers and valves. The upper chambers of the
atrium can be separated from the lower ventricles. The atria is served as a collection chambers
for blood returning to the heart from the body in lungs and for pumping blood into the ventricles.

The right side of the heart pumps blood through the pulmonary circuit for gas exchange and the
lower left side pump blood to the body system circuit for gas exchange in the tissues.
Two factors are primarily responsible for blood pressure in the arteries; cardiac output
and peripheral resistance. Cardiac output is simply the amount of blood pumped by the left
ventricle per unit time. There are two components to cardiac output, the rate at which a
heartbeats and how much blood volume is contained to each beat (stroke volume). Just because
a heartbeat slower does not mean a cardiac output is lower. The second factor that influences
blood pressure is peripheral resistance, which is the resistance flow through the arterioles and
capillaries.
In this lab we used a multiple test subject to test exactly what effect had on systolic and
diastolic blood pressure and pulse. The purpose of this lab is to gather cardiovascular physiology
data for each subject in the class and compare the values at rest to the values after the exercise, as
well as to determine if differences in gender play a role in the increase in pulse count/ heart rate
and blood pressure after exercise. In other studies, it has been found that females tend to have
higher heart rates than males before and after physical activity (Lutfi et al., 2011). There has also
been evidence suggesting that testosterone plays a key role in higher blood pressure in males
(Reckelhoff, 2000). Also, males tend to have higher blood pressures than females due to the
testosterone (Reckelhoff, 2000). The results from this lab are expected to correspond with the
previous studies.
Materials and Methods
The procedure for this experiment was taken from: Lab Manual (Nelson & Burpee,
2013). In order to receive a more detailed procedure you may refer to the cited source

The initial step in the experiment was for each subjects background to be recorded and
their history of smoking, caffeine, and exercise. In addition, the subjects recorded their height
weight and age. The subjects then had their resting blood pressure and resting heart rates taken
using standard techniques. The equipment used consisted of a sphygmomanometer (blood
pressure cuff) and a stethoscope. Blood pressure is measured by inflating the cuff to about 200
mm Hg and then slowly release the pressure while using the stethoscope to listen for to noises.
After setting up the sphygmomanometer properly on the subjects arm, the cuff is inflated
to about 200 mmHg and then the pressure is released slowly while listening for the sounds of the
heart with the stethoscope. As soon as the first faint, thumping sound is heard, record the number
on the gauge as the systolic pressure. After this sound, it will be a little while before the last
thumping sound is heard. The reading at when the last sound is heard is referred to as the
diastolic pressure.
The exercise portion of the lab consisted of two different step exercises. In order to
standardize the data, subjects shorter than 5 feet 6 inches had to use a 33-centimeter step box
while those at exactly or, over, 5 feet 6 inches used a step box of 40 centimeters in height. The
first exercise consisted of a timer set at one minute while the subject took 15 steps within that
time. One step consists of first, stepping one foot onto the box then the other, so both are one
the box at the same time before putting one back on the ground, followed by the other foot.
Fifteen seconds after the exercise, two other group members take the pulse and blood pressure of
the exerciser and the recorder of the group records the data. The procedure is repeated after the
second exercise of 30 steps in a minute.

After the data was collected from all subjects, it was analyzed using simple methods to
normalize the data. The resting values of the pulse counts, systolic, and diastolic blood pressures
were averaged. Next, the percent differences derived from the exercising values after resting,
were found for all subjects before determining the average. This technique was repeated for the
remaining exercising fields. The only deviation from the protocol in the lab manual was that each
individual counted their own pulse while another timed them for the required 30 seconds. This
allowed for the procedure to be more comfortable for the subjects. The purpose of the two
exercises is to collect data after a light exercise and after a heavy exercise. The data was
analyzed using a series of simple calculations
Results
Resting Level Values:
Table 1: Resting level values:

Pulse
count
Sys.BP
Dias.B
P

Average
Males
Females
37.355172 37.061063
41
83
124.93103 120.97872
45
34
76.620689 69.468085
66
11

P
Values

SE
Males
0.1918876
48
0.2610410
02
0.1651634
14

Females
0.1126959
38
0.4630128
45
0.1814217
36

0.1163
22
0.0264
47
0.2011
02

Exercise Data:
Table 2: Normalized average change in pulse count/30sec after exercise
av. % diff
SE
P value
Pulse
count
Males
Females
Males
Females
1515.4618288
0.27770711 0.19506474
steps
3
21.317595
7
4
0.984
3044.5242421 47.6299064 0.31959068 0.26418490 0.00088
steps
7
6
7
7
9

Exercise Data:
Table 3: Normalized average change in systolic BP after exercise
av. % diff
SE
Sys.B
P Values
P
Males
Females
Males
Females
157.63750929 26.9967135 0.30579606 0.32902987 0.21380
steps
4
8
7
7
2
3020.2491806 40.4477823
0.32242510 0.1923
steps
5
6 0.55528412
8

Table 4: Normalized average change in diastolic BP after exercise

av. % diff
Dias.B
P
15steps
30steps

Males
2.11086035
4
2.5920169
23

Females

P
Values

SE
Males

Females

8.3738942
7

0.3818017 0.23205859
74
5

0.58

9.1222413
39

0.3320816 0.29295847
53
3

0.593
1

Resting Level Values:

Table 1: Resting level values:

140
120
100
80
60

Pulse count
Sys.BP
Dias.BP

40
20
0

Exercise Data:
Table 2: Normalized average change in pulse count/30sec after exercise

15-steps
30-steps

Exercise Data:
Table 3: Normalized average change in systolic BP after
exercise

Sys.BP
15-steps
30-steps

Table 4: Normalized average change in diastolic BP after

exercise

Dias.BP
15-steps
30-steps

av. % dif

Discussion
The results of this experiment showed that gender has an effect on the blood pressure
increase was significantly higher in men than in women. Because of the presence of nonspecific
symptoms, the evaluation of the presence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is clinically
important in obese subjects. Age and cardiac hypertrophy of the concentric 80 or, more
commonly, the eccentric type predispose to left ventricular systolic dysfunction. It could be the
fact that women tend to be smaller than men in the way they are built and the previous
information shows the size has an effect of how blood flow through.
Data is considered to be significantly different when there is a p-value less than 0.05. The
only pieces of data that are significantly different between males and females are the systolic
blood pressure taken at resting level (Table 1) and the normalized difference in pulse count after
30 steps of exercise (Table 2). This data only partially agrees with related studies in that the
systolic blood pressure of males was significantly larger than that of females (Reckelhoff, 2000).
Otherwise, the remaining data neither corresponds with other studies nor shows obvious
correlations between gender and heart rate and blood pressure. The remaining data all had P
values greater the 0.05.
Some possible sources of error were the human error when taking pulse of individuals.
Also the procedures required the the subject wait 15 seconds before getting the pulse and blood
pressure taken after exercise, sometimes it took more than 15 seconds to set up the subject to get
both measurements taken. This experiment is very beneficial to future research because it
provides support to the humanitarian impacts focused on heart disease and other related heart
issues. Heart disease is very common and causes a lot of deaths all over the world. More
specifically, every year over 600,000 Americans die due to heart disease, making heart disease

the leading cause of death in the United States (Ostchega et al., 2008). The more extensive the
research the closer researcher will be to decreasing the overall increase in in heart diseases. Also
it will be easier determining and comprehending the risk factors that impact heart problems

References
Convertino, V. A. (1998, August). Gender differences in autonomic functions associated with
blood pressure regulation.

American Journal of Physiology ,

R1909-R1920

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23015032

Lutfi, Mohamed Faisal, and Mohamed Yosif Sukkar. "The Effect of Gender on Heart Rate
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Ostchega Y, Yoon SS, Hughes J, et al. Hypertension awareness, treatment, and control
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for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Division of
Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys; 2008

Reckelhoff, Jane F. "Gender Differences in the Regulation of

Blood Pressure." AHA Journals 37.5 (2001): 1199-208. 24
Oct. 2000. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.