Written by: Minahil Mumtaz
Email: minahilkamoka2005@gmail.com
Figure 1. A Girl Running on a Treadmill
What are Adaptations?
Adaptations can be defined as your body's physiological response to exercising and training. The Principle of Adaptation refers to the process of a body getting accustomed to a particular exercise or training program through repeated exposure.
What are Cardiovascular Adaptations?
Cardiovascular adaptations refer to the change that occurs in the cardiovascular system in response to exercise or physical training.
Cardiovascular Adaptations to Exercise
When we engage in regular exercise, our cardiovascular system undergoes several adaptations to meet the increased demands. Some of the cardiovascular adaptations to exercise include:
Heart Size
The muscular walls of the heart increase in thickness, especially in the left ventricle, providing a more powerful contraction. The left ventricle's internal dimensions increase as a result of increased ventricular filling.
Figure 2. An athlete's heart
Heart Rate
As cardiac output at rest remains constant the increase in stroke volume is accompanied by a corresponding decrease in heart rate.
Figure 3. An Athlete's heart rate during exercise
Stroke Volume
The increase in the size of the heart enables the left ventricle to stretch more and thus fill with more blood. The increase in muscle wall thickness also increases the contractility resulting in increased stroke volume at rest and during exercise, increasing blood supply to the body.
Figure 4. Stroke Volume during Exercise
Blood Pressure
A person with blood pressure in the 'normal' range experiences little change in blood pressure at rest or with exercise; however hypertensive people find that their blood pressure reduces towards the normal as they do more exercise. This is due to a reduction of peripheral resistance within the artery, and improved condition and elasticity of the smooth muscle in the blood vessel walls.
Figure 5. An Athlete's BP during exercise
Cardiac Output
Cardiac output increases significantly during maximal exercise effort due to the increase in SV. This results in greater oxygen supply, waste removal, and hence improved endurance performance.
Figure 6. Cardiac Output during Exercises
Oxygen Delivery
Exercise promotes the development of new blood vessels, enhancing the delivery of oxygen-rich blood to the working muscles.
Figure 7. Oxygen delivery during exercise
Training can also result in these adaptations occurring in the cardiovascular system. However, the degree of these adaptations will be less significant as compared to the adaptations caused by aerobic exercise, anaerobic exercise and muscle endurance training. These cardiovascular adaptations occur gradually over time as the body adjusts to the demands of exercise.
Gender Differences in Cardiovascular Adaptations to Exercise
Research suggests that men and women may exhibit some variations in their cardiovascular adaptations to exercise.
Figure 8. A male & female athlete playing tennis
Heart Size
Males have comparatively larger hearts than females. Therefore, male athletes tend to experience a greater increase in heart size with exercise.
Heart Rate
Generally, female athletes tend to have slightly higher resting heart rate compared to the males. However, both genders experience a decrease in resting heart rate with exercise.
Figure 9. Male and Female Athlete Heart Rate
Stroke Volume
Male athletes typically have larger hearts and, therefore, higher stroke volumes as compared to females. Both genders still experience an increase in stroke volume, leading to improved cardiac functions.
Blood Pressure
Female athletes tend to have lower blood pressure levels compared to males, both at rest and during exercise. While exercise can help reduce blood pressure can help reduce blood pressure in both genders, females experience a greater decrease.
Figure 10. Blood Pressure Chart
Cardiac Output
Males generally have larger hearts and higher cardiac output compared to females. This means they can pump more blood per minute during exercise, which contributes to their ability to sustain high-intensity activities for longer durations. Females have a higher stroke volume, which means that with each heartbeat, they pump a large volume of blood. This compensates for their lower cardiac output.
Oxygen Delivery
In both cases, it allows effective oxygen delivery to the muscles during exercise. Both male and female athletes have different ways of adapting to exercise, and these differences can influence how oxygen is delivered to their muscles during exercise.
The overall effects of exercise on cardiovascular health apply to both male and female athletes, regardless of these differences.
Exercise and Cardiovascular Health
It is widely accepted that regular physical activity is beneficial for cardiovascular health. Frequent exercise is robustly associated with a decrease in cardiovascular mortality as well as the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Figure 11. Benefits of exercise on cardiovascular health
Exercise has also been found to have beneficial effects on the heart. Acutely, exercise increases cardiac output and blood pressure, but individuals adapted to exercise show lower resting heart rate and cardiac hypertrophy.
Even though moderate levels of exercise are consistently associated with the reduction in cardiovascular disease risk, there is evidence to suggest that continuously high levels of exercise (e.g. running, marathon, etc.) could have detrimental effects on cardiovascular health.
This is particularly important for patients with cardiovascular disease, whose exercise capacity is typically lower than that of healthy individuals. There is also evidence that exercise training improves the capacity of blood vessels to dilate in response to exercise or hormones with better vascular wall function and an improved ability to provide oxygen to the muscles during exercise.
Bibliography
1.“The Adaptation Cycles: What They Are and Why They Important?” Studio Pilates, 29 Mar. 2017, www.studiopilates.com/the-adaptation-cycles-what they-are-and-why-they're important/#:~:text=Adaptation%20is%20your%20body.
2. “Cardiovascular Adaptations to Exercise — PT Direct.” Www.ptdirect.com, www.ptdirect.com/training-design/anatomy-and-physiology/chronic-cardiovascular-adaptations-to-exercise#:~:text=The%20increase%20in%20size%20of.
3. Ml, O’Toole. “Gender Differences in the Cardiovascular Response to Exercise.” Cardiovascular Clinics, 1989, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2644030/.
4. Petek, Bradley J., et al. “Impact of Sex on Cardiovascular Adaptations to Exercise.” Journal of the American College of Cardiology, vol. 82, no. 10, Elsevier BV, Sept. 2023, pp. 1030–38, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2023.05.070. Accessed 26 Nov. 2023.
5. Nystoriak, Matthew A., and Aruni Bhatnagar. “Cardiovascular Effects and Benefits of Exercise.” Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, vol. 5, no. 135, Sept. 2018, https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2018.00135.
6. Myers, Jonathan. “Exercise and Cardiovascular Health.” Circulation, vol. 107, no. 1, Jan. 2003, https://doi.org/10.1161/01.cir.0000048890.59383.8d.
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