Lacewell 1

Alexis M. Lacewell
Dr. Bret Zawilski
RC 2001-410
2 November 2015
Essay 1.1
Cardiovascular health is a significant component of physiological well-being, yet
cardiovascular disease is a prominent cause of mortality. Women are particularly subject to
experience impending risks of cardiovascular disease as they age, especially due to menopause.
However, pregnant women are also susceptible to the impending risks of cardiovascular disease.
Todays technology has allowed many women to conceive later in life when their cardiovascular
risk factors could potentially be increasing. Aside from conception age, when women become
pregnant, the demands on their heart increase to accommodate the needs of the growing fetuses.
It is important for women to be able to sustain the increased demand on their heart from
pregnancy, and exercise is a critical behavior that can be modified to accompany women to
sustaining the increased demand on their heart. In any case, exercise is important for women to
partake in throughout life whether they bear children or not; for women who do bear children
exercise pre-partum, during pregnancy, and post-partum is essential to lowering risks for
cardiovascular disease throughout gestation.
Exercise is tailored to the individual needs of women, especially those who are pregnant,
and should be discussed with a physician. Aerobic exercises, such as walking, biking, and
swimming, are typically prescribed for women during pregnancy. The American College of
Sports Medicine refers to aerobic exercise as an activity that uses the large muscles of the body

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in a continuous, rhythmical fashion, and that is relatively easy to maintain at a consistent
intensity (CITATION). In general, aerobic exercise decreases resting heart rate and blood
pressure, which allow the heart to function without overworking itself. Resting heart rate and
blood pressure indicate the hearts workload while inactive. Having a low resting heart rate and
blood pressure implies that your heart is functioning normally based off of the pressure in the
walls of your veins and arteries without overcompensating. On the other hand, a high resting
heart rate and blood pressure implies that your heart is functioning normally, but may be working
too hard at rest. This extra work could potentially be indicative of pre-hypertension or
hypertension, which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Pregnant women have to
accommodate their heart rate and blood pressure to that of their fetus, so their resting heart rates
and blood pressures may become higher. The increase in heart rate and blood pressure are normal
as long as they do not exceed a certain threshold. Aerobic exercise during pregnancy allows
women to maintain a relatively safe, stable resting heart rate and blood pressure, which reduces
cardiovascular stress due to pregnancy and, in turn, the risk for hypertension (CITATION).
Aerobic exercise also improves the transportation and delivery of oxygen (CITATION).
This is often referred to as the maximum amount of oxygen that can be taken in by the body and
then taken to muscles and bones for work. Pregnant women tend to experience fatigue because a
greater portion of their oxygen for working muscles, such as the heart, and bones is being
utilized to accommodate their fetuses. Participating in aerobic exercise can increase their
maximum oxygen capacity, so that they are taking in more oxygen and they will perform tasks
at a lower percentage of their maximum with less fatigue or symptoms (CITATION). Improving
the transportation and delivery of oxygen by using a lower percentage of the maximum allows

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the cardiovascular system to function more efficiently, therefore decreasing the amount of stress
that can be caused by pregnancy.

The next section will discuss the benefits of resistance/strength training on pregnancy, which will
be followed by my position which is a combination of aerobic and resistance training to
maximize the benefits that exercising pre-, during, and post pregnancy have on the
cardiovascular system.