Glossary of Physiology Terms -
Cardiac output

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Cardiac output

Abbreviation:

Definition:

Cardiac output is defined as the volume of blood pumped every minute by each (left or right) ventricle of the heart. It is generally reported in L/min or mL/min.

Cardiac output (CO) is the product of heart rate (HR) and stroke volume (SV). Thus,

CO = HR × SV

Heart rate is defined as the number of heart contractions per minute. Stroke volume is the volume of blood pumped per ventricular contraction.

For a typical resting adult human being at rest, CO is approximately 5 L/min.

CO = 70 contractions/min × 70 mL/contraction = 4,900 mL/min

Posted: Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Last updated: Wednesday, March 12, 2025

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Glossary of Physiology Terms -Cardiac output

Cardiac output

Glossary of Physiology Terms -
Cardiac output