Wendy Wilson was taking a \"Boot Camp\" aerobics class at a local spa/fitness ce

Question

Wendy Wilson was taking a "Boot Camp" aerobics class at a local spa/fitness center. She had taken this class on several occasions, and loved being outdoors will all the interesting gadgets (giant tires, big ropes, obstacle course) that made the workout fun. Plus Bob, the instructor, was an outstanding motivator and reminded her of her own son, who was off at State University on the pre-Veterinarian track. Bob made sure that everyone was constantly on the move, and gave them three one-minute water breaks at 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 45 minutes. After the one hour Boot Camp, Mrs. Wilson was winding down, and thought that a soak in the hot tub would help soothe her (soon-to-be!) aching muscles Heather House walked by the hot tub about 10 minutes later, and realized that Wendy was not coherent, very confused, and lethargic. Wendy had slid low down into the water- almost under and not knowing what to do, Heather grabbed Wendy by the hair and dragged her out of the hot tub. She called for help, and one of the gals in the locker room was an off-duty EMT. The EMT grabbed the lemon-ice water pitcher, soaked towels in freezing water, and stuffed them under Wendy's armpits, and wrapper her arms and legs. She then ordered more ice-water to re- soak the towels on the extremities. She also directed a bystander to call 9-1-1, and within seconds the on-duty EMT team arrived. Mrs. Wilson's initial vitals were Parameter |Supine Sitting u BP HR 90/60 75/45 105 bpm 135 bpm Mrs. Wilson was starting to revive with the ice water wraps. She was now coherent, and extremely embarrassed that she had caused all of this commotion. The paramedics debated starting a saline I.V. since she was feeling much better and her vitals had improved, and erring on the side of caution, they hung one bag of fluid. Approximately 30 minutes after Ms. House had pulled Mrs. Wilson from the hot tub, Mrs Wilson's vitals were Parameter |SupineSitting u BP1 116/74115/78 70 bpm72 bpm HR At this point, Mrs. Wilson felt fine, and refused further treatment. She was advised to continue to drink water in moderation, eat something, and to take it easy for the rest of the day. Her husband was called, and he came to pick her up and bring her home. She had no further cardiovascular issues

Explanation / Answer

When cold is applied to the skin, the blood vessels underneath them constrict i.e. to become narrower (vasoconstriction) and thus increases blood pressure.

The ambient temperature for our body is around 27-degree Celcius. So, when exposed to freezing water, the cold receptors are activated, causing the sympathetic nervous system which in-turn stimulates vasoconstriction, causing decreased blood flow, and this decreased blood flow reduce heat transfer and increase insulation, thereby preventing heat loss and thus regulate body temperature back to the normal.

This process also causes the blood pressure to rise, because as a result of vasoconstriction, more blood has to pass through the vessels at a given time than the normal as blood volume remains the same, so higher pressure will be exerted by the blood on the vessels. This is because decreased diameter causes more of blood to be in contact with the vessel wall which causes the resistance to increase and hence increased pressure. Hence, in order to improve a low bp condition, applying cold is recommended as they cause the blood pressure to rise due to vasoconstriction.

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