Heart Rate Physiology

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Physiology of Heart Rate

Cardiovascular system generally is defined as the circulation of blood throughout the body to supply oxygen and nutrients and removal of waste products [1]. In addition, heart rate refers to the amount of times the heart beats per minute. The heart beats allows the blood to be pumped out of the heart and into the body supplying oxygen in order for the muscles to work or to the lungs for re-oxygenation [1]. A normal resting heart rate ranges from 60-100 beats per minute (bpm). Generally, when the heart rate is higher than 100 beats per minute (bpm) it suggests that the heart is working hard to supply blood throughout the body and this could also be an indication of a serious problem [1]. However, if the resting heart …show more content…

This deficiency is affected by many physiological functions that occur in women’s body including cardiovascular system [4]. One of the common symptoms during peri-menopause that many women face is heart palpitations. According to the Harvard Health Publications (2015), it suggests that the heart rate of women during peri menopause increases to by 8-16 beats during a hot flash [5]. Decrease in estrogen levels results in overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system which causes irregular heartbeat and heart palpitation [6]. As stated by the Australian Menopause Centre (2013), when a woman approaches menopause, the levels of estrogen produced by her endocrine system fluctuates and eventually declines which leads have a significant effect on her cardiovascular system …show more content…

The heart beats allows the blood to be pumped out of the heart and into the body supplying oxygen in order for muscles to work or for e-oxygenation in the lungs. The main control centre is the hypothalamus which allows the brain to communicate with the rest of the body through autonomic nervous system. In the autonomic nervous system, the sympathetic (fight or flight response) which provides body with energy in stressful situations. While on the other hand, parasympathetic is the rest and digests response which calms the body down. During the stress response our body stimulates sympathetic nervous system which releases adrenaline in the bloodstream which results in increase in heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rate. During menopause, women experiences irregular heart beat and heart palpitation due to decrease in estrogen levels. Lastly, the actions of thyroid hormone on certain molecular pathways in the heart will cause fluctuations in the heart