Which formula is used to calculate cardiac output?

Cardiac output is a critical parameter in assessing the efficiency of the heart as a pump and is defined as the volume of blood the heart pumps per minute. The formula to calculate cardiac output is derived from two key components: stroke volume and heart rate.

Stroke volume refers to the amount of blood ejected by the left ventricle during each contraction, while heart rate is the number of times the heart beats in one minute. To determine cardiac output, these two values are multiplied together. This means that if the heart pumps a certain volume of blood per beat and there are a specific number of beats each minute, the resultant product gives the total volume of blood pumped in that minute.

This multiplication provides a comprehensive measure of the heart's functioning by considering both the volume of blood per beat and the frequency of beats over time. Therefore, the correct formula for calculating cardiac output is indeed stroke volume multiplied by heart rate.