When exercise ends, your muscles no longer need the same level of oxygen delivery. Your heart rate, however, does not return to baseline immediately.
Body temperature remains elevated, stress hormones are still circulating, and the cardiovascular system continues moving heat toward the skin. Recovery is an active physiological process rather than an instant return to rest.
This is a test article for The Physiology Edit. It can be edited or replaced at any time from Storyblok.