Cardiovascular Adaptations in Excercise

Discuss the Acute Cardiovascular Adaptations that Combine to Increase Oxygen Consumption during Exercise

There are many factors in cardiovascular adaptations that influence oxygen consumption during exercise. Cardiac output is a major factor. Cardiac output is the product of the heart rate and the stroke volume. The stroke volume is the amount of blood pumped per heartbeat. So, cardiac output can be increased due to a rise in heart rate and stroke volume. During normal exercise conditions the increase of cardiac output is caused by an increase in both heart rate and stroke volume.
During exercise the quantity of blood pumped by the heart must change in accordance with the elevated skeletal muscles’ demand for oxygen. Since the SA node controls the heart rate, changes in heart rate often involve factors that influence the SA node. The tw...