Caffeine, one of the most commonly used psychoactive drugs, is a central nervous system stimulant that induces the sense of alertness and awareness. Inspired by the previous research on how the caffeine affects the cardiovascular system, we wanted to test the effect of different concentrations of caffeine on the heart. We used ECG stimulator on LabScribe 2 software to monitor the heart rate. We used frogs as a test subject, since both frogs and humans have a closed cardiovascular system, therefore the effect on the frog’s heart would parallel the situation of a human heart. We quantitatively measured the heart rate and found out that caffeine significantly increases the heart rate of the Rana sphenocephala
Introduction:
Although unclear of …show more content…
Caffeine serves as a lignin that physically binds to the receptor and triggers the increase of cyclic AMP concentration (Watt & Routledge, 1986). The Increase in CAMP allows for the activation of protein Kinases, which increases heart rate and other metabolic/intracellular processes. Since the frog was not introduced to caffeine prior to the experiment, there was a drastic peak in the heart rate after just a couple minutes (Figure 1). This parallels the situations in humans because the people who don’t consume caffeine on a regular basis have more drastic effects on the heart rate versus those who consume caffeine on a daily basis. If more than the normal amount of caffeine (more than 500 mg) is consumed, there is a significant increase of heart rate and a spontaneous increase in blood pressure, although it is unclear of exactly why blood pressure increases when caffeine is introduced to the system. Due to the increase of the heart rate and blood pressure, there is higher susceptibility to heart issues like cardiac arrhythmia (Robertson et al., 1978). I hypothesize that the heart rate has a direct correlation to the ventricular pressure, which could explain the increase in the blood pressure. When the ventricular pressure increases, more blood is being pumped out of the ventricles at a higher pressure to the arteries, which could cause the arteries to rupture. I also hypothesize that caffeine could block a signaling molecule or hormone, other than adenosine, that specifically helps the blood vessels widen and therefore, lower the blood pressure. The big picture of the experiment conveys that due to the increased heart rate, caffeine level in the body should be monitored and should not be taken rapidly for it can increase
Introduction:
Although unclear of …show more content…
Caffeine serves as a lignin that physically binds to the receptor and triggers the increase of cyclic AMP concentration (Watt & Routledge, 1986). The Increase in CAMP allows for the activation of protein Kinases, which increases heart rate and other metabolic/intracellular processes. Since the frog was not introduced to caffeine prior to the experiment, there was a drastic peak in the heart rate after just a couple minutes (Figure 1). This parallels the situations in humans because the people who don’t consume caffeine on a regular basis have more drastic effects on the heart rate versus those who consume caffeine on a daily basis. If more than the normal amount of caffeine (more than 500 mg) is consumed, there is a significant increase of heart rate and a spontaneous increase in blood pressure, although it is unclear of exactly why blood pressure increases when caffeine is introduced to the system. Due to the increase of the heart rate and blood pressure, there is higher susceptibility to heart issues like cardiac arrhythmia (Robertson et al., 1978). I hypothesize that the heart rate has a direct correlation to the ventricular pressure, which could explain the increase in the blood pressure. When the ventricular pressure increases, more blood is being pumped out of the ventricles at a higher pressure to the arteries, which could cause the arteries to rupture. I also hypothesize that caffeine could block a signaling molecule or hormone, other than adenosine, that specifically helps the blood vessels widen and therefore, lower the blood pressure. The big picture of the experiment conveys that due to the increased heart rate, caffeine level in the body should be monitored and should not be taken rapidly for it can increase