Monitoring Activity of the Heart (Cambridge International IGCSE Biology)

Spec point — 9.1.4 · State that the activity of the heart may be monitored by: ECG, pulse rate and listening to sounds of valves closing

Monitoring activity of the heart

• Heart activity can be monitored by using an ECG, measuring pulse rate or listening to the sounds of valves closing using a stethoscope
• Heart rate (and pulse rate) is measured in beats per minute (bpm)
• To investigate the effects of exercise on heart rate, record the pulse rate at rest for a minute
• Immediately after they do some exercise, record the pulse rate every minute until it returns to the resting rate
• This experiment will show that during exercise the heart rate increases and may take several minutes to return to normal