Respiratory and Circulatory Systems PDF

Running head: RESPIRATORY AND CARDIAC SYSTEM
Respiratory and Cardiac System
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Cardiac system and the respiratory system are an important part of the human body. The
cardiac system of the body comprises of blood, blood vessels and the heart and the respiratory
system of the body mainly comprises of the nose, larynx, pharynx, trachea, lungs and bronchi,
alveoli (Hall 2015). In this essay, the mechanism of pulse rate and ventilation, redistribution
process of blood during the exercise, circulatory diseases and its relation to the environmental
factors, changes of the respiratory systems during the respiratory diseases and the relationship
between the respiratory disease and the environmental factors are discussed.
Ventilation of breathing is regulated by the central and peripheral chemoreceptors. When,
the blood PCO2 level increases, CO2 diffuses into the blood brain barrier and reach CSF. Then
the concentration of H+ increases due to splitting of H2CO3. It is sensed by chemoreceptors of
medulla oblongata and ventilation increases. The peripheral chemoreceptors sense changes in the
blood PO2, Ph and PCO2 level. Stimulation of those receptors cause enhanced secretion of
dopamine and signal is sent to the respiratory center via glossopharyngeal nerves and there is an
increase in ventilation. The pulse rate is regulated by sympathetic and parasympathetic
stimulation. sympathetic stimulation, which is composed of noradrenaline and adrenaline,
enhances the pulse rate. On the other hand parasympathetic system that is operated by the
neurotransmitter acetylcholine lowers the pulse rate ( Hall 2015).
During the exercise, a few particular muscles of the body are working in an excessive
high rate and on the other hand there are a few muscle that are actually minimally working on the
time of exercise. The working muscles are different from one exercise to another. During the
process of exercise, the redistribution of the blood occurs by the mechanism of autoregulation in
the body. During the time of the exercise, the particular part of the needs more oxygen due to
work properly and this redistribution of blood flow is called blood shunting. The comparatively

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inactive muscle of the body do not get enough blood supply due to the vasoconstriction of the
blood vessels supplying that particular region. On the other hand, the maximally active organ of
the body during the exercise get more blood supply due to the vasodilation of the vessels
supplying that region. The sympathetic nervous system of the body controls the process of
vasoconstriction and the vasodilation is controlled by the parasympathetic stimulation of the
body (Hearon Jr and Dinenno 2016).
Circulatory disease mainly refers to the cardiovascular diseases that is associated with the
arteries of the cardiovascular system. The diseases mainly are coronary artery disease (CAD),
carotid artery disease, peripheral artery disease. In case of the CAD, the fatty components are
deposited in the walls of the arteries and as a result oxygen supply is ceased in that region.
Excessive amount of blood cholesterol can cause the onset of the CAD. In case of the carotid
artery disease the both side of the neck is blocked due to the deposition of the fat. As a result, the
blood supply to the brain tissues are reduced. In the peripheral artery disease the blockage is
occurred in the arteries of the legs, pelvis and legs due to the deposition of the fat. This
ultimately may result in gangrene. In addition, due the circulatory diseases, the blood vessel
walls can be damaged due to high blood pressure of continuous forceful flow of blood (Zipes et
al. 2018).
The environmental factor can greatly affect the circulatory diseases. The environmental
factors such as intense air pollution and various metal particles such as lead, cadmium and
arsenic can promote the circulatory diseases. In study, it was seen that, the highly polluted areas
are associated with the circulatory diseases and it was observed that in those areas circulatory
diseases are absolutely common. In addition to this, the higher exposure level of those
environmental factors than that of the current normal standard level promotes the onset of