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Often expressed in cm/s. This value is inversely related to the total cross-sectional area of the blood vessel and also differs per cross-section, because in normal condition the blood flow has laminar characteristics. For this reason, the blood flow velocity is the fastest in the middle of the vessel and slowest at the vessel wall.
Major factors influencing cardiac output – heart rate and stroke volume, both of which are variable. [1]In cardiac physiology, cardiac output (CO), also known as heart output and often denoted by the symbols , ˙, or ˙, [2] is the volumetric flow rate of the heart's pumping output: that is, the volume of blood being pumped by a single ventricle of the heart, per unit time (usually measured ...
At this stage the majority of the flow can be described with velocity vectors normal to the entrance, but in plane velocities tangent to the flow are present. [3] As the path starts to curve in the ascending aorta, the blood towards the outside of the arch tends to rotate towards the inner wall, causing a helical pattern that is observed in ...
Venous return (VR) is the flow of blood back to the heart. Under steady-state conditions, venous return must equal cardiac output (Q), when averaged over time because the cardiovascular system is essentially a closed loop. Otherwise, blood would accumulate in either the systemic or pulmonary circulations.
The EF of the right heart, or right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF), is a measure of the efficiency of pumping into the pulmonary circulation. A heart which cannot pump sufficient blood to meet the body's requirements (i.e., heart failure) will often, but not invariably, have a reduced ventricular ejection fraction. [6]
The E/A ratio is a marker of the function of the left ventricle of the heart. It represents the ratio of peak velocity blood flow from left ventricular relaxation in early diastole (the E wave) to peak velocity flow in late diastole caused by atrial contraction (the A wave). [1]
In a healthy heart all activities and rests during each individual cardiac cycle, or heartbeat, are initiated and orchestrated by signals of the heart's electrical conduction system, which is the "wiring" of the heart that carries electrical impulses throughout the body of cardiomyocytes, the specialized muscle cells of the heart.
Myocardial infarction or cardiomyopathy causes damage to the myocardium, which impairs the heart's ability to eject blood and, therefore, reduces ejection fraction. This reduction in the ejection fraction can manifest itself as heart failure. Low EF usually indicates systolic dysfunction, and severe heart failure can result in EF lower than 0.2 ...