D cardiovascular drift

• cardiovascular drift is a progressive decrease in stroke volume and arterial blood pressure, with a progressive rise in heart rate
• when does cardiovascular drift occur?

  • prolonged exercise
  • warm environment
• why does cardiovascular occur?

  • portion of sweat comes from plasma
  • reduction in plasma volume causes stroke volume and venous return to decrease
  • to compensate, heart rate increases to create enough energy to cool body down
• high fluid consumption before/after exercise minimises cardiovascular drift