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Calculating Cardiac Output

Cardiac output is the amount of blood that the heart pumps in a minute. It is essentially a measure of how hard the heart is working, and it can be calculated.

Cardiac output

Cardiac output

  • Cardiac output is a measure of how hard the heart is working.
  • The amount of blood being pumped by the heart per minute is the cardiac output, and we can calculate it using heart rate and stroke volume.
  • Heart rate is the number of beats per minute.
  • Stroke volume is the volume of blood being pumped out by the left ventricle per beat.
Calculating cardiac output

Calculating cardiac output

  • We calculate cardiac output using this equation:
    • Cardiac output = beats per minute x stroke volume
  • The higher the heart beat, and the higher the stroke volume, the higher the cardiac output.
Changes to cardiac output

Changes to cardiac output

  • Cardiac output can change, and is controlled by the cardiac control centre in the medulla oblongata.
  • Increasing heart rate or stroke volume enables oxygen to be delivered to tissues more rapidly, and waste products can be taken away more quickly.
  • This is important in exercise.
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