Question 1

what's cardiac output?

Accepted Answer

Heart pump volume: The cardiac output is the volume of blood per minute pumped by the heart.  Cardiac output is equal to heart rate multiplied by stroke volume (the volume of blood ejected with each heartbeat).

Question 2

can you define cardiac output?

Accepted Answer

Cardiac output: Stroke volume times heart rate equals cardiac output. Stroke volume relates to myocardial contractility, vascular resistance, vascular volume, anemia and metabolic state. There are subcomponents to all of these.

Question 3

what influences cardiac output?

Accepted Answer

Multiple things: Cardiac output is the product of heart rate in stroke volume.  Thus, an increase in heart rate results in an increase in cardiac output.  Stroke volume can be affected by changes in preload, afterload, and contractility (strength of contraction).  Preload is "priming the pump".  Afterload is the resistance to ejection during systole (contraction).

Question 4

how is cardiac output calculated?

Accepted Answer

Indirectly: Indirectly, by equating the right cardiac output with the left cardiac output and putting a swan ganz catheter into the pulmonary artery.  Or calculating the difference between the arteriol and venous oxygen content; this is called the fick formula.

Question 5

what is an average cardiac output?

Accepted Answer

5 L per minute: The average cardiac output is somewhere around 5 l per minute.  Cardiac output varies with the size of the patient (larger patients have larger cardiac output). Cardiac output is increased in conditions such as fever, anemia, or pregnancy.

Question 6

is cardiac output the same as ef%?

Accepted Answer

No : Ef is the percentage of blood ejected with each heart beat. &gt;55% is normal. Cardiac output is the amount of blood in ccs or milliliters ejected per minute and is dependent on heart rate and stroke volume (the volume of blood pumped in a single beat) co depends on body size but a typical measurement is in the range of 5 liters per minute.

Question 7

what could increase cardiac output?

Accepted Answer

Cardiac output: Basically an increase in demand for oxygen by the body. This may be physiological (exercise) or pathological (sepsis - infection - fever) or increased metabolism (hyper active thyroid gland - hyperthyroidism) or abnormal conducts (shunting of blood).

Question 8

what systems affect cardiac output?

Accepted Answer

Heart rate, volume: Cardiac output is affected by heart rate and the volume of blood pumped out of the heart in each heart beat (stroke volume).  Factors that increase the heart rate (anxiety, fever, walking) increase cardiac output.  Similarly, factors that increase volume of blood that heart pumps with each cycle increase cardiac output.  High level athletes  have very high stroke volume, because of conditioning.

Question 9

when could cardiac output decrease?

Accepted Answer

Low blood pressure: Cardiac output is related to the heart rate, and volume of blood the heart can pump with each heart beat.  A low cardiac output occurs when the pump function of the heart is compromised by an event such as a heart attack or when the blood volume is reduced by and event such as dehydration, or bleeding.

Question 10

how do you ?measure cardiac output?

Accepted Answer

Several: Can use 2d echo, mra of heart, and right heart cath. Cardiac output is the measure of how many liters per minute the blood is being circulated in the body.

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Cardiac output

A member asked:

What's cardiac output?

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Can you define cardiac output?

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What influences cardiac output?

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How is cardiac output calculated?

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What is an average cardiac output?

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Is cardiac output the same as ef%?

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What could increase cardiac output?

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What systems affect cardiac output?

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When could cardiac output decrease?

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How do you ?measure cardiac output?

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