Now the Olympic flame has left the UK its remaining legacy is to Essay

Now the Olympic flame has left the UK its remaining legacy is to inspire a generation, promoting the benefits of physical fitness. What are the benefits to the cardiovascular system of regular exercise - Essay Example This paper is a discussion of the main physiological features of the cardiovascular system. The heart, one of the system’s major components, has two ventricles at the bottom chambers of the heart and two atria at the top chambers (Aaronson et al, 2004: p47). The ventricles force the blood into the blood vessels from the heart while the atria drains and forces blood into the ventricles. The heart is divided into two chambers in order to achieve a two-circuit system of circulation. The right side pumps to the lungs while, on the other hand, the left pumps to the other organs of the body. During the cycle of a heartbeat, the right and left atria contract, then the right and left ventricles follow suit, followed by relaxation of the ventricles and atria. During the resting phase for the ventricles and atria, blood flows from the relaxed atria to the relaxed ventricles, constituting the diastole. The atria then contract to force out any remaining blood almost followed immediately by the ventricle, constituting the systole. To ensure that blood flows in the right direction, the heart has valves that allow blood to move in only one direction. The heart valves open and close when the heart relaxes and then contracts, which is caused by the pressure difference in the heart, and these valves are; aortic, mitral, pulmonary, and tricuspid valves (Aaronson et al, 2004: p50). The one way nature of the valves ensures that blood does not flow back, which avoids mixing of different blood. The heart is comprised of the cardiac muscle, which is a striated and involuntary muscle found on its walls and histological foundations (Aaronson et al, 2004: p52). While smooth muscle is also involuntary, cardiac muscle is more anatomically related to skeletal muscle since smooth muscle is not striated. The cardiovascular system is made of an amalgamation of smooth and cardiac cells, with the blood vessels lined by smooth muscle. The circulatory system is