Cardiac output is defined as which of the following?

Cardiac output is defined as which of the following?

• A. Heart rate multiplied by stroke volume
• B. Heart rate divided by stroke volume
• C. Stroke volume only
• D. Blood pressure multiplied by heart rate

Answer: (A)

Cardiac output is the total volume of blood the heart pumps each minute. It combines how much blood is ejected with every beat (stroke volume) and how many beats occur each minute (heart rate). Multiply heart rate by stroke volume to get cardiac output. This gives a flow rate in mL per minute (often around 4–8 L/min in adults).

If you divide heart rate by stroke volume, you’d get a meaningless ratio for blood flow per minute. Stroke volume alone is the amount ejected per beat, not per minute. Blood pressure multiplied by heart rate mixes a pressure value with rate and does not directly yield volume per time.