What is the equation for cardiac output?

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Multiple Choice

What is the equation for cardiac output?

Cardiac output is the volume of blood the heart pumps each minute. It depends on two factors: heart rate (how many times the heart beats each minute) and stroke volume (how much blood is ejected with each beat). Multiply them to get the amount of blood pumped per minute: CO = HR × SV. This gives units of mL per minute (often converted to L/min). Why this is the best fit: multiplying heart rate by stroke volume directly links beat frequency with the amount ejected per beat, which together determine how much blood the heart delivers per minute. The other ideas don’t match the definition. Mean arterial pressure times systemic vascular resistance relates to MAP, and solving CO = MAP / SVR is a rearranged relationship, not the standard primary formula for cardiac output. Adding heart rate and stroke volume isn’t dimensionally correct, and using heart rate with diastolic volume mixes a timing factor with a volume that isn’t the amount ejected per beat.

Cardiac output is the volume of blood the heart pumps each minute. It depends on two factors: heart rate (how many times the heart beats each minute) and stroke volume (how much blood is ejected with each beat). Multiply them to get the amount of blood pumped per minute: CO = HR × SV. This gives units of mL per minute (often converted to L/min).

Why this is the best fit: multiplying heart rate by stroke volume directly links beat frequency with the amount ejected per beat, which together determine how much blood the heart delivers per minute.

The other ideas don’t match the definition. Mean arterial pressure times systemic vascular resistance relates to MAP, and solving CO = MAP / SVR is a rearranged relationship, not the standard primary formula for cardiac output. Adding heart rate and stroke volume isn’t dimensionally correct, and using heart rate with diastolic volume mixes a timing factor with a volume that isn’t the amount ejected per beat.

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