Vital Signs Lab Report

Vital signs are measurements of the body’s basic functions and are the signs of life. In this experiment, the vital signs measured include heart rate, respiration rate, blood pressure, and pulse oximetry. These vital signs and change of vital signs are affected by factors such as gender, race, genetics, lifestyle, exercise, and environment. This experiment focuses on the effect of exercise and physical conditioning on vital signs and the change of vital signs after performing exercise. Heart rate is measured by counting the number of pulse beats felt in an artery at a pulse point in the neck, at the carotid artery, or wrist, at the radial artery, for a minute and signifies the amount of times the heart beats in a minute. …show more content…
Normal pulse oximetry measurements range from 95 to 100 percent. This percentage signifies the percentage of hemoglobin molecules in the blood that are saturated with oxygen. Though pulse oximetry is not usually considered as a vital sign because it is a relatively new vital sign, this experiment uses it to determine the effectiveness of the both the circulatory and respiratory systems in bringing oxygen to the farthest reaches of the body after exercise.
Each of these measures of vital signs increase after exercise as a result of the body being forced to respond to the exercise challenge and increase the amount of oxygen being sent throughout the body to fuel muscles. The resting vital signs and the resulting vital signs after exercise will vary between individuals with various levels of physical conditioning because of their bodies will be more or less used to the stimuli and have more or less cardiovascular fitness.
Additionally, the measure of VO2 max signifies the body’s ability to consume oxygen. It can be measured in a laboratory with special equipment to find the exact value, or it can be estimated using the following