Online Lab: Blood Pressure

This lab was a fun and creative approach to understanding blood pressure and the risk factors that
play a role in hypertension. Below is the age and gender chart and graph of data from the exercise.
1. State a problem about the relationship of age and gender to blood pressure.
The rule of thumb is that blood pressure rises with age; however, life styles and family history influence
blood pressure as well. The highest jump in blood pressure for females occurred from age 35 to 54, while
male participants highest jump in blood pressure occurred in the 45 to 54 age group. Also, these age
groups experienced the largest number of participants with health and lifestyle problems (family history,
high-salt diets, lack of exercise, and alcohol use).
2. Use your knowledge about the heart and the circulatory system to make a hypothesis about how
the average blood pressure for a group of people would be affected by manipulating the age and
gender of the group members.
Generally, the younger group of children between the ages of 11-17 tends to be all around healthier. They
are not old enough to smoke and drink alcohol, and tend to be closest to their ideal body weight.
However, as both genders tick up in age you can start to see an abuse of alcohol, high-salt diets, lack of
exercise and mild to severe obesity. Since most people out of high school take on more adult
responsibilities (jobs, children, mortgages, car payments, credit card debt), you see a higher rise in stress
which leads to malnutrition (obesity, high-salt diets, lack of exercise, and alcohol use) all of which play a
role in hypertension. Many adults in the working world find it hard to find time to eat properly when there is
convenient "fast foods," cannot seem to squeeze in adequate time for exercise, and abuse their bodies
with tobacco and alcohol, all of which put great stress on the body, especially the heart and circulatory
system. Any type of drug or alcohol abuse can lead to organ damage, irregular heartbeats, heart attacks,
stroke, and can cause the heart to work overtime pumping blood. Diets high in fat and cholesterol can
lead to diabetes and plaque build-up which interferes with the natural flow of blood through the circulatory
system and puts strain on the heart. Since atherosclerosis starts in early adulthood and becomes
prevalent in the mid to late adulthood groups, it is important to chose wise lifestyle choices early as a
means to prevent hypertension and cardiovascular disease. I theorize that all groups’ average blood
pressure can change due to manipulation of some of the participants’ ages, genders, or lifestyle habits.
For example, the older groups (45-54) with the greatest amounts of malnutrition and abuse on their
bodies could reduce the numbers of hypertension participants and bring their average blood pressure for
the group down if some of the group members were younger (healthier).
3. How will you use the investigation screen to test your hypothesis? What steps will you follow?
What data will you record?
If I wanted to determine whether the average blood pressure for a single group changes when
ages/genders/lifestyles have been manipulated within the particular group, I would start by replacing one
of the ten group members with a different participant from another age group/gender. With the previously
recorded data from the exercise, I can determine that replacing a random male from the 45-54 age group
(average BP 137/87) with a random female from the 11-17 age group (average BP 116/75) will reduce
the group’s average blood pressure due to the females lower blood pressure numbers. In reverse of the
latter, I could replace a random male from the 11-17 age group (average BP 116/75) with a random
female from the 45-54 age group (average BP 133/82) and the new groups average blood pressure will
raise due to the females higher blood pressure numbers. The more blending of participants within certain
groups, the different the readings would be. Every time I replaced one younger member with one older
member in a group, or one older member with one younger member in a group, I would record the
groups’ average blood pressure.

4. Analyze the result of your experiment. Explain any patterns you observed.
Starting with the 11-17 age group, every time I added an individual from an older age group, the group's
average blood pressure ticked upwards. The same is true visa versa, every member of the 45-54 age
group that was replaced with a younger participant brought the group's average blood pressure down.
The more blending of young members in the older age group, the more the average blood pressure came
down. The more blending of the older members in the younger age group, the more the average blood
pressure went up.
5. Did the result of your experiment support your hypothesis? Why or why not? Based on your
experiment what conclusion can you draw about the relationship of age and gender to group
blood pressure averages?
Yes, the results from the experiment supported my hypothesis. I believe this is so because the younger
participants’ are generally healthier, hence more stable blood pressure, so their readings were able to
bring the older participants' group average blood pressure reading down. The older participants’ are less
healthy and at greater risks for cardiovascular problems, hence hypertension, so their readings effectively
raised the younger participants' group average blood pressure reading up.

6. During the course of your experiment, did you obtain any blood pressure reading that were
outside of the normal range for the group being tested? What did you notice on the medical charts
for these individuals that might explain their high reading?
Yes. If I replaced a random participant from the younger group with an older participant who displayed
hypertension, the younger group's average blood pressure reading was higher than with a non-
hypertensive participant from the older group. Out of the 16 men and woman which displayed
hypertensive readings, ten were considered obese, with eight consuming high-salt diets, seven with a
family history of hypertension, six who lack proper exercise, and five who abuse alcohol. To break the 16
hypertensive participants up by gender, 11 were male and 5 were female. To break the 16 hypertensive
participants up by age, nine were from the 45-54 age group (3 female and 6 male), four were from the 35-
44 age group (2 female and 2 male), one was the 25-34 age group (male), and the last two were from the
18-24 age group (males). Out of the 11 males with hypertensive readings, obesity was the highest factor
(6 males) followed by family history (5 males), consumption of high-salt diets and alcohol abuse tied with
four (4 males), and the least popular disclosure from the hypertensive male medical reports was lack of
exercise (3 males). Out of the 5 females with hypertensive readings, obesity was the highest factor (5
females) followed by the consumption of high-salt diets (4 females), lack of proper exercise (3 females),
and the least popular disclosures from the hypertensive female medical reports was a tie between family
history and alcohol abuse (1 Female). Of the 16 participants which displayed hypertensive readings, three
members were mildly underweight, all men between 35-54, two of which consumed high-salt diets and
one which abused alcohol.
7. List risk factors associated with the hypertension. Based on your observation, which risk factor
do you think is most closely associated with hypertension?
Obesity seems to be the highest risk factor among the hypertensive participants, with 12 of the 16
hypertensive members displaying mild to severe obesity (3 females ≤ 12lbs. overweight / 2 females ≥ 38
lbs. overweight / 31 lbs. ≤ 7 male ≤ 58 lbs. overweight) The next largest risk factor among the
hypertensive participants is the consumption of high-salt diets, with 8 of the 16 disclosing the unhealthy
lifestyle choice on their medical reports (4 females and 4 males). Lack of exercise was tied among female
and males with a total of 6 (3 females and 3 males) disclosing they do not get proper exercise.
Interestingly, on alcohol abuse and family history, the males scored 5:1 with the females, for a total of 6
disclosed alcohol consumption and family history on the medical records of the 16 hypertensive
participants. Lastly, I noticed that the male participants’ average blood pressure for all age groups is
higher than any of the female participants.

8. What effect might obesity have on blood pressure? Does obesity alone cause a person to be at
risk for high blood pressure? What other factors, in combination with obesity, might increase a
person's risk for high blood pressure?
For individuals that are overweight, the heart has to work harder to send more blood and service tissues.
The blood pumps out at a greater pressure as well. Also, people who suffer from obesity are at a higher
risk for diabetes. The harm to blood vessels in diabetic individuals can lead to plaque build-up which can
produce multiple health problems. The severity of the obesity, among with any other health factors, will
most likely dictate any abnormalities in the blood pressure. If a person is only 5-10% obese, exercises
and eats healthy, they may have a normal blood pressure. If that same individual who is 5-10% obese
does not exercise, maintain a healthy diet, and has a family history of hypertension, they may be at risk
for hypertension. Remember, your body will be as good to you as you are to it; so it is important to
maintain a healthy lifestyle. Smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, stress, and lack of exercise are all factors
which can put a person at risk for high blood pressure.
 Female Age Group 11-17

Systolic Diastolic
117 77
125 78
110 70
109 70
111 70
116 77
122 79
113 76
113 73
124 80
Average Average

116 75
 Female Age Group 18-24

Systolic Diastolic
115 76
119 79
108 68
109 70
107 69
110 70
117 73
115 72
110 70
116 75
Average Average

112.6 72.2
 Female Age Group 25-34

Systolic Diastolic
117 78
125 84
111 73
112 73
111 71
110 72
118 73
118 77
114 73
120 80
Average Average

115.6 75.4
 Female Age Group 35-44

Systolic Diastolic
143 94
123 79
140 90
141 90
117 75
117 73
116 75
120 77
118 77
122 78
Average Average

125.7 80.8
 Female Age Group 45-54

Systolic Diastolic
141 95
130 80
146 97
144 91
130 77
122 72
129 80
129 77
127 77
127 77
Average Average

132.5 82.3
 Male Age Group 11-17

Systolic Diastolic
117 77
125 78
110 71
109 69
110 70
117 77
122 79
114 76
113 74
126 80
Average Average

116.3 75.1
 Male Age Group 18-24

Systolic Diastolic
123 76
128 78
125 79
140 91
123 79
141 91
131 82
126 79
136 84
125 78
Average Average

129.8 81.7
 Male Age Group 25-34

Systolic Diastolic
142 93
134 85
127 79
127 79
126 76
126 79
129 79
129 80
127 77
130 80
Average Average

129.7 80.7
 Male Age Group 35-44

Systolic Diastolic
142 90
131 82
141 90
120 79
126 81
122 72
133 82
129 80
122 80
128 80
Average Average

129.4 81.6
 Male Age Group 45-54

Systolic Diastolic
141 92
129 80
141 93
144 91
130 80
140 91
131 80
142 92
129 80
142 94
Average Average

136.9 87.3