What is the formula for calculating cardiac output (CO)?

The formula for calculating cardiac output (CO) is based on the relationship between stroke volume (SV) and heart rate (HR). Cardiac output is defined as the volume of blood the heart pumps per minute. To determine this, you multiply the amount of blood ejected with each heartbeat (stroke volume) by the number of heartbeats per minute (heart rate).

This means that if either the stroke volume or the heart rate increases, cardiac output will also increase. This relationship is critical in understanding how the cardiovascular system responds during different physical activities or in various states of health. Therefore, the formula CO = SV x HR accurately reflects how to quantify cardiac output in physiological terms.

In contrast, the other options do not accurately represent the relationship between cardiac output and its components, as they include variables that are not relevant to the direct calculation of CO.