Hypertension Lab

From http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/virtual_labs_2K8/labs/BL_14/

Follow the virtual lab procedure, and answer the questions below.  Answer in complete sentences. Please leave spaces between questions and your answers.

1. What factors are known to cause increases in blood pressure?

Increases in blood pressure can be caused by stress, eating and exercise habits, and alcohol consumption.

2. Use your knowledge about the heart and the circulatory system to make a hypothesis about how the average blood pressure for a group of people would be affected by manipulating the age and gender of the group members.

The majority of the people between the ages of 11-17 have a low or average blood pressure. As they get older, their blood pressure increases significantly. The age range of people 45-54 have a blood pressure that goes beyond then their average. The average blood pressure of women also have significantly lower chances of high blood pressure than males.

3. What sorts of problems might a person develop who has chronic hypertension?

A person who has chronic hypertension may have obesity and weight problems and does not exercise as much as they should.

4. Analyze the result of your experiment. Explain any patterns you observed.

I noticed that the males generally have a significantly higher blood pressure than the women do. People that are older also have a higher blood pressure than people of the ages 11-17.

5. Did the result of your experiment support your hypothesis? Why or why not? Based on your experiment what conclusion can you draw about the relationship of age and gender to group blood pressure averages?

This result did support my hypothesis because i knew the older males would have a higher blood pressure than the younger males and females.

6. During the course of your experiment, did you obtain any blood pressure reading that were outside of the normal range for the group being tested? What did you notice on the medical charts for these individuals that might explain their high reading?

I noticed that the people that smoked and do not exercise have a higher blood pressure than those that do. A lot of the patient’s blood pressure was out of range and abnormal compared to the others.

7. List risk factors associated with the hypertension. Based on your observation, which risk factor do you think is most closely associated with hypertension?

Smoking, weight, exercise, diet, daily habits, and stress are risk factors associated with the hypertension. I think stress is the most closely associated with hypertension.

8. What effect might obesity have on blood pressure? Does obesity alone cause a person to be at risk for high blood pressure? What other factors, in combination with obesity, might increase a person's risk for high blood pressure?

Obesity can raise your blood pressure and lead to diabetes. Obesity alone can cause a person to be at risk for high blood pressure. Stress can lead to high blood pressure along with exercise.

Monday Wellness: Snacks

The snacks we just ate were healthy because they were high in proteins, vitamins, and fiber. I normally snack twice a day. A healthy snack for me would be considered to be fruits, but other healthy snacks are peanut butter, fish, and avocados. Some snacks to stay away from are chips, or any other snacks that are over 200 calories and are high in fats. I liked the activity because it was very interesting and very fun. Even though the activity was very entertaining, i felt that the presentation setup was a little distracting so i did not catch some of the information. Overall, i thought the presentation and activities were very fun and captivating!

Unit 2 Reflection

Health is your physical and mental well being. I think that i am overall healthy, but the majority of people at Saratoga may not be healthy due to their amount of stress. Stress is really bad for our health because it increases our blood pressure, causes skin problems, headaches, and many other symptoms that are very bad. Stress can lead to a craving for food, which can cause obesity and weight problems. Students can limit their stress by doing their homework earlier or having a good schedule. The essential themes in this unit are the pillars of health which are nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, and social. All these factors play an important role in our life and in our health. Some things i learned is that sleep is very important. I hear many people complain that they don't get enough sleep due to the stress at school and i now know that this is very unhealthy. I also learned that getting a good and certain amount of exercise every day is very important and it can actually help you remember things and focus better. In the next unit, i will improve by taking more notes and focusing better during the lectures. I will also try to do a little extra research when i get home to learn more about each topic that we learn in class. In my life, i deal with a significant amount of stress, whether it is worrying about my future or just my grades in school. I learned this is very unhealthy and i should do something to fix this.