How is cardiac output calculated?

Cardiac output is the volume of blood the heart pumps per minute, which is a critical measure of the heart's efficiency in supplying blood to the body. The correct method to calculate cardiac output involves a specific relationship between two key components: stroke volume and heart rate.

Stroke volume refers to the amount of blood ejected by the heart with each heartbeat, while heart rate is the number of times the heart beats per minute. The calculation of cardiac output, therefore, combines these two elements to quantify how much blood is circulated in a minute. Mathematically, cardiac output is calculated by multiplying the stroke volume by the heart rate. This product reflects the total volume of blood being pumped out by the heart in one minute and provides insights into cardiac function and overall circulatory health.

Other options might suggest adding stroke volume to heart rate, averaging stroke volume, or involving blood pressure. However, these methods do not accurately capture the relationship needed to determine cardiac output, thus underlining why the correct calculation method centers around the multiplication of stroke volume and heart rate.