You are babysitting two children who are having a contest to see who can hang upside-down for the longest time. At the end of the contest, both children feel dizzy and are worried they are sick. Explain to them why they feel this way and why the effect is only temporary. (Hint: Consider how the baroreceptor reflex responds when a person hangs upside-down.)

Video transcript

Hey, everyone. Let's take a look at this question. Together. Two friends opted for amusement at the fair and chose to ride the roller coaster after surveying various attractions. Unfortunately, midway through the ride, the roller coaster malfunctioned, leaving the passenger suspended upside down. What would be its subsequent impact on the passenger's cardiovascular system? Is it answer choice. A the blood will pool to the lower limbs. Answer choice B, the heart rate will decrease and the blood vessels in the upper part of the body will dilate answer choice C the blood pressure will change or answer choice D the chemo receptors will be activated. Let's work this problem out together to try to figure out which of the following answer choices best explains the impact on the passengers cardiovascular system when they are left suspended upside down. So in order to solve this question, we have to recall what we have learned about what happens to someone's cardiovascular system when they are suspended upside down and looking at our answer choices, answer choice A says the blood will pool to the lower limbs. Well, we know that when we are hanging upside down, our upper limbs are more towards the bottom. So the blood will pool towards the upper limbs and not the lower limbs. As when we are upside down, the blood rushes to our upper limbs, which are now in place of the lower limbs since we are upside down. So answer choice A cannot be the correct answer. Answer. Choice. B says the heart rate will decrease and the blood vessels in the upper part of the body will dilate. Well, we know that when we are suspended upside down, heart rate will in increase in order to compensate for altered blood flow, since we are suspended upside down and the upper blood vessels may constrict in order to maintain blood pressure. So answer choice B cannot be the correct answer either as the heart rate will not decrease and instead will increase and the blood vessels in the upper part of the body will not dilate and instead may constrict. Next, we have answer choice C which says that the blood pressure will change. Well, we know that when we are suspended upside down, the blood pressure may change due to alterations in venous return cardiac output and peripheral resistance. Which means that answer choice C is an impact on the cardiovascular system of the passengers that are suspended upside down. So answer choice C is the correct answer. And lastly, we know that answer choice D is incorrect since the chemo receptors will not be activated as chemo receptors only respond to changes in chemical composition and we are only suspended upside down without any changes in chemical composition. So the chemo receptors will not be activated. And answer choice C is the only correct answer choice. I hope you found this video to be helpful. Thank you and goodbye.