Oxygen Saturation

I. Introduction

In this experiment, we investigate the correlation between exercise, heart rate, and oxygen saturation. The human body depends on the oxygen transport by hemoglobin. Healthy adults have a normal oxygen saturation level between 94-99%. (Timmings, 2014). This means that the majority of oxygen is bound to hemoglobin. On the other hand, adults with respiratory and cardiac problems tend to have lower oxygen saturation level. Therefore, Haymond (2006) stated that oxygen saturation- the percentage of hemoglobin bounded to oxygen- is a clear indicator of a person’s cardio-respiratory status expressed as SpO2.

Figure 1: Oxygen Absorption in the Blood (Timmings, 2014)

While oxygen saturation levels are fairly constant, this value may fluctuate during exercise due to the increase need for oxygen. This is because the body has to work harder to keep the oxygen saturation levels up so that it can keep on functioning. To allow more blood to flow out of the heart, arterioles expand and ventricles contract harder. As the heart beats faster, blood flows faster, decreasing the amount of time oxygen has to enter the blood stream. Wonderly (2011) explains that this makes it harder for blood to stay oxygenated. During exercise,

This instrument shines a red light through the finger and calculates the percentage of blood saturation by measuring the amount of light that passed through the fingertip and surmising how much has been absorbed by the oxygen in the blood. According to Pulmolink (2015), the fingertip pulse oximeter detects minor changes in absorption as the blood is pumped past the measurement site. Weak pulses can give inaccurate measurements. ”Your pulse oximeter measurement naturally lowers during exercise because of changes that occur in oxygen-binding properties of red blood cells. Specific measurements vary depending on your health situation and exercise intensity” (Carmichael,