What happens to vascular resistance during exercise?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking about the changes in vascular resistance that occur during exercise, specifically how blood flow is regulated in the body during physical activity.
Answer
Vascular resistance decreases during exercise.
The final answer is, during exercise, vascular resistance typically decreases due to vasodilation in active skeletal muscle beds.
Answer for screen readers
The final answer is, during exercise, vascular resistance typically decreases due to vasodilation in active skeletal muscle beds.
More Information
During exercise, vasodilation occurs in the skeletal muscles involved in the activity, which lowers systemic vascular resistance. Despite this decrease, arterial pressure can increase due to a greater increase in cardiac output.
Tips
A common mistake is assuming that all vascular resistance decreases uniformly across the body during exercise, while in reality, the decrease is more pronounced in active muscles.
Sources
- Exercise-induced reduction in systemic vascular resistance - sciencedirect.com
- Physiology, Peripheral Vascular Resistance - StatPearls - NCBI - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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