Question

Average cardiac output is
A) 4 litres per minute
B) 6.3 litres per minute
C) 5 litres per minute
D) 7.3 litres per minute

Answer 1

The cardiac output is related to the cardiovascular system. The cardiovascular system is responsible for pumping blood and transferring oxygen in the body. It is done with the help of the heart and blood vessels.

Complete answer: The cardiac output or average cardiac output is defined as the amount of blood pumped by the heart in one minute. It is also defined as the amount of blood pumped by the heart in all the cardiac cycles that occur within the duration of one minute. One heartbeat pumps approximately seventy millilitres of blood. This blood is pumped from both the ventricles of the heart. It is also known as the stroke volume. Cardiac output = Number of heartbeats in one-minute stroke volume. Now, the number of heartbeats in one minute is seventy-two. Taking the stroke volume as seventy millilitres, we obtain the cardiac output as five thousand forty millilitres for every one minute. It can be roughly taken as five litres per minute.
Hence, the correct answer is option C.

Note: Out of the total blood pumped by the heart, i.e., five litres per minute, ten percent or five hundred millilitres goes to the heart, fifteen percent or seven hundred and fifty millilitres goes to the brain, twenty percent or one thousand millilitres goes to the kidney, twenty-five percent or one thousand fifty millilitres goes to the alimentary canal, and the rest thirty percent or one thousand five hundred millilitres goes to rest of the organs.