How heart reacts to stress

By Park Sae-jin Posted : June 14, 2013, 13:49 Updated : June 14, 2013, 13:49
This is a big question in the field of biomedical science that how our heart reacts to the different forms of stress. This question was tested by three different bike riders at the International North West 200 motorbike festival.

This test was done on the very closed public roads around the coast of Northern Ireland where the motor bikes are often just inches from each other with the top speed of about 208 mph. North West 200 where this test was performed is said to be one of the fastest road races in the world.

Three famous bike riders were chosen for this special test. First one was said to be "The Champion" Alastair Seeley who is 33 years old, second one is known as "The Novice" Gareth Keys who was the youngest among three riders, just 22 years old and the third one who is 49-year-old guy, Jeremy McWilliams. He is called "The Veteran."

A heart strap and wireless sensor was fitted in their body so that their heart rate can be tracked at NW200. It also helped in analyzing their heart beat so as to check how it reacted to the stress due to high speed of their bikes when they are just few inches apart.

Dr. Sean Roe from the Center for Biomedical Science Education at Queen’s University at Belfast explained about the reason for the heart stress and other factors which affect the heart. He says that if the heart functioning is better, it can push blood around body easily. Then, in case of condition where heart rate goes up, there would be relatively less stress on the heart.

As a result of this analysis on the three riders, Roe found that Alastair Seeley, "The Champion," had an average heartbeat of about 134 bpm which is lowest among all the three riders. According to Roe, champion did not take the situation as stressful which may be due to his past experience. He was quite impressed by his low and consistent heart rate.

On the other hand, the other rider, "The Novice," Gareth Keys showed up the heart rate of 185 bpm which was the highest among them. This was because he was new and it was his first experience. This heart rate gives an indication of high physiological stress.

The third rider, "The Veteran," Jeremy McWilliams had an average heart rate of 164 bpm which is in between the other two riders heart beat. This may be because he had the experience of doing it before on the same place which reduced his emotional stress.

In the end, it was concluded that the most important factor which affects the performance of heart of bike riders is their love and passion towards the sport which motivates them to risk their life at such high speeds like 200 mph.

By Ruchi Singh
기사 이미지 확대 보기
닫기