Question

What would be the cardiac output of a person having 72 heart beats per minute and a stroke volume of 50 mL ?

Answer 1

Cardiac Output
(i) The volume of blood pumped by each ventricle per minute is called the cardiac output. It is 500 mL or 5 litres in a healthy individual.
(ii) It is determined by multiplying the heart rate with the volume of blood ejected by each ventricle during each beat, which is called as stroke volume.
Cardiac output = Heart $\times$ Stroke volume
$=72\frac{beats}{min}\times 0.08\frac{litre}{beat}=5.5\frac{litre}{min}$
(iii) Cardiac index is the minute volume per sq. m. of body surface area. Its normal value is 3.3lit/min/sq.m.