Eli5 why the heart needs a few minutes to return back to the normal rhythm after beating fast, as opposed to just reverting back to normal instantly
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Fast heart beat is a result, rather than a precursor to ‘high heart rate activities (let’s say exercise).
Exercise (if aerobic) will begin to decrease cell glucose and O2 levels > replacing them with CO2 and energy. Your lungs/brain will subconsciously counteract this by upping rate/depth of breath and heart rate. It’ll keep at this higher rate until blood levels are stabilized.
Regards this is only for aerobic respiration, I don’t know enough about anaerobic to comment.
When your heart is beating fast it’s pumping blood faster through your body. That increased speed increases the momentum of your blood. If your heart just tries to slow it down all at once it could be damaged in the process, not to mention how the sudden drop of blood pressure could cause you to pass out or other problems. The gradual return to your heart’s normal rate is it slowing down your blood gradually enough not to damage your body.
Here’s a way to visualize this: Fill a glass with water and start stirring it. Stir it slowly, pull the spoon out and then put it back in. The movement of the water pushes it a little. Now start stirring the water really quickly, pull out the spoon and put it back in. The momentum of the water pushes the spoon a lot harder, maybe even hard enough to knock the spoon out of your hand.
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