Osteoarthritis, Exercise, and Swimming (Essay Sample)

Osteoarthritis, Exercise, and Swimming
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Part 1
As people get older, the central arteries in the body get stiffer since their elasticity significantly lessens. Consequently, this occurrence increases the body’s blood pressure and puts an individual’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease plus other heart related conditions. One of the primary roles of the central arteries is to control the movement of blood which gets pumped out through the heart’s left ventricle with each cardiac cycle. For a normal working cardiovascular system, the capacity to control the blood is very important because with each stroke, adequate amounts of blood can be ejected while at the same time maintaining low pressure on the ventricle. This function is best observable when a person is running, more blood is getting in and out of the heart through the ventricle but the central arteries control the blood movement by adjusting to the volumes of blood being ejected from the heart. Contrary to older arteries, young arteries are much more elastic and with each cardiac pulsation the arteries are able to expand and shrink back with relative ease. Over time, the central arteries become stiffer and as a result the heart has to work harder because the blood is not flowing in and out with ease. Consequently, this occurrence is a precursor to Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH) and adversely, LVH is a potent forecaster of unpleasant cardiovascular conditions. In fact, with LVH, the central arteries get stiff which results in more velocity as blood begins to travel through the arteries with alarming pressure.
Part 2
Physiologically speaking, the claim that the benefits which are generated from cycling and walking also come from swimming is quite unsubstantiated. In fact, swimming is mostly an upper body exercise and also, it is performed in a supine position in water as compared to cycling or walking on land. Nevertheless, the act of exercising in water exposes a person to several hemodynamic experiences which are quite difficult to experience when exercising on land. Such experiences include the relocation of blood volume to the central arteries, the diving reflex, and pressure response. Despite these benefits from swimming, medical research indicates that swimming regularly actually may not be as beneficial as most people think it is. When swimmers are compared to other athletes in endurance sports, research outcomes indicate that swimmers typically have high levels of blood pressure. Furthermore, when swimming is compared to walking or jogging, swimmers tend to experience a higher average arterial blood pressure when functioning at a similar heart rate level. In one of the latest intervention studies, swimming has actually been proven as harmful. The study employed elder women with normal blood pressure levels are actually put them through random tests which included walking and swimming programs. The outcomes indicated that the women actually benefited more from the walking and jogging compared to the swimming program. In fact, the researchers identified considerable increases in diastolic and systolic blood pressure in the swimming program which was contrary to the findings of the walking and jogging program which found no changes in blood pressure.
Part 3
Medical research indicates that individuals with osteoarthritis have higher risks of both morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, the biggest majority of morbidity and mortality cases in osteoarthritis emanate from cardiovascular disease. However, when observing the well known risk factors for cardiovascular disease it is still difficult to understand how osteoarthritis increases those risks. But other studies do indicate that the immediate impact of long term inflammation and the secondary effect of an inactive lifestyle on vascular health do play an intricate role in increasing those risk factors. Two of the most significant indicators of vascular impairment include the stiffening of the central arteries and the endothelium’s inability to perform optimally. The lack of stiffening in the central arteries indicates the artery’s inability to expand and shrink back to normal in correlation to cardiac pulsation and settling down. The lessened compliance in the central arteries has been studied to significantly contribute to the pathophysiology concerning the increased development of cardiovascular disease in relation to age. As a result, this lessened compliance from the central arteries has been recognized as a risk factor all on its own. Recently, researchers have empirically demonstrated that the level of compliance in the central arteries is much worse in individuals with osteoarthritis. This feat was accomplished by comparing the osteoarthritis patients to healthy individuals. The difference in arterial compliance emanates from the inflammatory conditions experienced by the osteoarthritis patients. The primary role of the vascular endothelium is releasing mediators which aid blood pressure, vascular tone, and also in blood flow regulation. These mediators carry autocrine and paracrine effects which actually play a huge role in regulating these three processes. Subsequently, any dysfunction in the endothelium results in the development of cardiovascular disease and actually, the dysfunction can also play a huge role in the development of stiff central arteries. Moreover, the dysfunction of the endothel...