What term refers to all events associated with blood flow through the heart?

The term that encompasses all events associated with blood flow through the heart is the cardiac cycle. This cycle includes a series of mechanical and electrical events that occur throughout one heartbeat, starting with the filling of the heart's chambers with blood (diastole) and ending with the pumping of blood out of the heart (systole).

During the cardiac cycle, both atria and ventricles contract and relax in a coordinated manner to ensure effective blood movement. This process includes the closing and opening of valves, which facilitate unidirectional flow of blood, and the generation of pressure changes that allow for efficient circulation of blood throughout the body.

Understanding the cardiac cycle is crucial for grasping how the heart functions as a pump, ensuring that oxygenated blood is delivered to tissues while deoxygenated blood is sent to the lungs for reoxygenation. The other options fail to encompass all elements of blood flow through the heart; for instance, heart rhythm specifically relates to the pattern of electrical impulses driving the heartbeat, while cardiac output quantifies the volume of blood the heart pumps in a given time, and electrophysiological activity pertains to the electrical changes in heart tissue.