A Healthy, Active

Lifestyle…and your Cardiovascular

system

Lesson 2

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© ZigZag Education, 2009

Rebecca Rose

1.2.2 Syllabus Objective

Students should understand the impact of a healthy, active lifestyle on their cardiovascular system:

Exercise and physical activity – effects of regular participation in, and long-term effects of participation in, exercise and physical activity (cardiac output [HR x SV = CO], decreased resting heart rate, faster recovery, increased stroke volume, increased size of heart, effects on blood pressure, healthy veins and arteries)

• To know and understand the long-term effects of exercise on the CV system

• To identify the need for rest and recovery

• To understand the impact of a healthy diet on the CV system

Learning Objectives

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING ANAGRAMS

Starter Activity

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Long-term effects of exercise

1) The heart gets bigger in size

2) The heart’s muscular wall gets thicker and stronger. This is called ‘Hypertrophy’

3) The resting stroke volume and cardiac output increases

4) The resting heart rate decreases. This is called ‘bradycardia’

5) Your recovery rate improves

6) Decreased blood pressure

7) Healthy veins and arteries

Endurance training helps strengthen the heart. This is progressive. The effects of this are:

Arteries

Veins

Long-term effect on blood vesselsLong-term effect on blood vessels

• Carry blood away from heart

• Have thick, elastic wall

• Stretch as blood pumps through

• High pressure

• Small lumen (middle)

• Carry blood to the heart

• Have thinner wall

• Low pressure

• Large lumen

• Contain valves

Before we look at the effects, we first of all need to know what the vessels do…

Long-term effect on blood vesselsLong-term effect on blood vessels

• A poor diet and an inactive lifestyle leads to the build up of fatty deposits on the inside of the veins and arteries

• This makes it difficult for blood to flow through

• When this is really bad, arteries become totally blocked which can cause heart attacks

• Long-term exercise prevents this build up in the arteries and veins and helps them remain clear and healthy

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1.2.2 Syllabus Objective

Students should understand the impact of a healthy, active lifestyle on their cardiovascular system:

Rest (rest required for adaptation to take place, time for recovery before next exercise session)

Rest and Recovery: Aerobic

• To improve aerobic cardiovascular fitness you must continually train (e.g. running, swimming)

• It is important that when planning a training program you plan to have ‘rest days’ where you will not exercise your CV system

• This allows the heart to continually adapt to the long-term effects of the exercise and also to recover in time for your next session

Rest and Recovery: Anaerobic

• To improve anaerobic cardiovascular fitness it is important that your training is in short, fast bursts such as interval training

• When planning an interval training program you must consider the rest intervals in between each work interval

• A good indicator of this is by testing your heart rate and waiting for it to return to a near resting state before repeating the sprint

• Over time, the rest interval will become much shorter as your body will have adapted and will be much quicker at recovering

1.2.2 Syllabus Objective

Students should understand the impact of a healthy, active lifestyle on their cardiovascular system:

Diet (effects on blood pressure and cholesterol – HDL and LDL)

Think of as many good and bad foods as you can and then write them down in

your workbook.

Discuss with the rest of the class

TASK

Good foods are those that contain :• Fibre – e.g. fruit, vegetables, dairy products,

• Protein – e.g. lean skinless meat, poultry, seafood, nuts

• Vitamins – dairy products, meat, vegetables

• Minerals – milk, red meat

• Oils and fats – use liquid vegetable oils and low cholesterol margarines, salad dressings, etc.

• Saturated fats – butter, lard, sour cream, pork scratching • High fat meats – duck, fatty steak, prepared meat, sausage

What should I eat?

You should avoid food that contains:

• Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance found in all parts of the body. Your body makes some cholesterol, and some cholesterol comes from the food you eat.

• Your body needs a little bit of cholesterol to work properly. But too much cholesterol can clog your arteries and lead to heart disease.

• High cholesterol foods include: eggs, liver, prawns and any food high in saturated fats

Cholesterol

There are 2 types of cholesterol:

HDL – High Density Lipoprotein• This is known as good cholesterol• It can remove and clean up the fatty deposits left in

arteries• High levels of HDL can prevent cardiac heart disease

LDL – Low Density Lipoprotein • This is known as bad cholesterol• It clings to arteries and can cause blockages• High levels of LDL can cause cardiac heart disease

Good and bad cholesterol

• High blood pressure is a blood pressure that is 140/90 mmHg or above each time it is taken. That is, the blood pressure is ‘sustained’ at 140/90 mmHg or above.

• The cause is not known in most cases. It is thought that a slight narrowing of the arteries increases the resistance to blood flow, which increases the blood pressure.

• In some cases, high blood pressure is caused by other conditions, e.g. certain kidney or hormone problems can cause high blood pressure.

High Blood Pressure

• It is important to drink lots of water and stay hydrated

• You should drink at least 2 litres of water a day or you could suffer from…

• High Blood Pressure or ‘hypertension’ – When you are dehydrated there is not enough water to fill all the blood vessels that diffuse water into vital cells. Drinking water reduces this problem.

• High Cholesterol – This can block arteries and result in heart attacks and heart disease

• Heartburn – This is a painful burning sensation and is a signal of water shortage in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract.

Water