Monday 3 May 2010

Cardiac Output and Importance Of Value

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3.4 Calculate Cardiac Output and Discuss The
Importance Of Value
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This blog is looking at how to measure our cardio output and the importance of measuring it. Our cardiac output is the measurement of how much blood is pumped by each ventricle per minute, this can be measured by the formula cardiac output = stroke volume x heart rate. By using this formula I measured my cardiac output and the results were 80 x 70 = 5600 cm3 = 5.60 litres per minute.
At rest the normal rate of blood is 5 litres per minute, but during exercise it can be up to 30 litres per minute. Our cardiac output depends on how much blood is getting back to the right hand side of the heart, this is known as venous return. When our blood return increases due to exercise this is because of the myocardium contracting stronger, causing the stimulus that the muscle fibres to stretch.
If our heart rate is low it can cause to feel unwell and also give us indication that there isn't enough oxygen getting around the body. Some things we could end up with are low blood pressure, fainting spells, dizziness, feeling tired and sluggish, not getting enough nutrients into our body causing mal - nutrition and also we won't be able to get rid of the carbon dioxide out of our body which can cause us severe problems with our heart, lungs, respiratory system and all other parts of the body.
Another issue that could be picked up from measuring our cardiac output is if we have high blood pressure, are at risk of a stroke or a heart attack, it could also indicate if we are under stress or even just been exercising.
Overall measuring our cardiac output is important for many reasons and could prevent us from serious health problems or even death, so it is worth just having it taken every so often to ensure that things are alright because even though you think they are it isn't always he case, and as they say prevention is better than the cure.

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