London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1926
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
This page requires JavaScript
Girls.
| Age. | Temperament. | Skin. | Distance of A.B. from middle line. | Pulse rate before race. | Pulse rate after race. | Pulse 2 min. after race. | Distance. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (1) K.L., 2.10.12 | Bright | Fine | 2¾ in. | 116 | 160 irreg. br. marked | 128 reg., br. faint | 2 lengths. |
| (2) M.G. (1) 23.5.13 | Bright | Fine | 2¼ in. | 108 | 156 extra systoles | 120 reg. | 2 lengths. |
| (3) H.M., 17.10.13 | Bright | Fine | 2½ in. | 120 | 164 irreg. | 124 reg. | 1 length. |
| (4) A.O., 16.2.14 | Bright | Fine | 2¼ in. | 120 | 160 sl. irreg. | 132 reg. | 1 length. |
| (5) G.A., 18.11.14 | Placid | Rough and dry | 2¾ in. | 92 | 132 reg. | 120 reg. | 1 length. |
| (6) G.G., 11.9.14 | Bright | Fine | 2\½ in. | 104 | 156 irreg. | 124 still irreg. | 1 length. |
| (7) G.W., 14.10.14 | Bright | Fine | 2½ in. | 96 | 148 reg. | 108 reg. | 1 length. |
| (8) F.H., 7.3.15 | Bright | Fine | 2¼ in. | 108 | 160 irreg. | 140 still irreg. | 1 length. |
| (9) E.B., 5.4.15 | Placid | Fine | 88 | 120 reg. | 88 reg. | 1 length (a trained swimmer who won 3 races). | |
| (10) L.H., 1.11.12 | Nervous | Mottled | 2½ in. | 96 | 156 irreg. systolic br. | 116 irreg. | 1 length. |
| (11) G.T., 29.6.13 | Somewhat placid | Mottled | 2i in. | 100 | 160 irreg. breathing laboured | 120 still irreg. | 1 length. |
| (12) M.G. (2), 20.9.14 | Rather nervous | Mottled | 2¾ in. | 112 | 164 marked irreg. breathing laboured | 140 still irreg. after 5 min. | 1 length. |
| (13) M.C., 2.2.15 | Anxious | Fine | — | 124 | 164 marked irreg. | 92 after 5 min. | 1 length. |
Nutrition—First 9 good; Nos. 10-13 average.
Physique—-Nos. 1-7 and 9, good; Nos. 8 and 10, small; Nos. 11-13, average.
Heart—No. 1, Funct. syst. bruit at apex; Nos. 11 and 12, A.B. diffuse and slapping; No.
13, A.B. diffuse.
The pulse-rate prior to the race showed more uniformity among the boys when the
rates lay between 88-108 as against the girls 88-124. In only 4 of the boys was
the pulse-rate 100 or more, while 9 girls showed a high rate. Excitement largely
accounts for this all-round increase of pulse-rate, and the comparatively higher rates
in the girls indicates a relatively higher susceptibility to the effects of excitement
in them. There is normally a definite physiological increase of pulse-rate in pubescent
girls, so that the normal rate may be somewhere near 100, which, of course, does not
account for the high rates seen here.
This higher susceptibility to the effects of excitement in girls seems to be borne
out by the fact the average rise in rates following the races is lower in girls (47.5) than
is the average rise in boys' pulse rates (51). If anything, this indicates that the
reserve forces of the heart have already been called into action prior to the actual
contest, a surmise which is proved by the average slower rate of fall (32) in the girls than
in the boys (36.7) two minutes after the race, thus exemplifying the physiological
law that the greater the fatigue of any organ, the longer time such organ takes to
recuperate. In one girl's case, M. G. (2), the pulse-rate was 140 five minutes after
the termination of the race. She appeared to be cold and was shivering, and was
really the only child seen who perhaps was not suited by build or nature to take
part in such a contest, although no harm came to her, for she was seen some time
afterwards and was then warm and happy.
A very interesting result was the high jump of the pulse-rate in the three girls
of poor circulation, L. H. (60), G. T. (60), and M. G. (52), and in the high jump of