CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSE TO EXERCISE



The heart responds to exercise principally by adrenergic stimulation and vagal withdrawal, which increase heart rate and contractility, and by peripheral circulatory alterations (Table 1-2). The increase in heart rate usually accounts for the majority of the increase in cardiac output. In­creased contractility contributes to the increase in cardiac output by increasing the stroke volume.

Vessels supplying exercising muscles dilate, whereas the remaining vascular beds vasocon-strict. Isometric and isotonic exercises affect the cardiovascular system somewhat differently. The predominant response to isometric exercise (e.g., weight lifting) is an increase in peripheral vaso­constriction with a subsequent increase in arterial pressure. In contrast, isotonic exercise (e.g., jog­ging) reduces systemic vascular resistance pri­marily in exercising muscles, which improves cardiac output. Those who exercise regularly ob­tain a cardiac training effect, with a lower resting heart rate and a greater capacity to increase car­diac output during exercise.





CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSE TO EXERCISE