During a cardiac cycle, each ventricle pumps out approximately 70 ml of blood. This is called the stroke volume. The stroke volume multiplied by the number of beats per minute (heart rate) gives the cardiac output. For one minute, the heart beats 72 times in a healthy man. The cardiac output is 72 x 70 or 5040 ml per minute, i.e, about 5 litres per minute. Therefore, the volume of blood pumped out by each ventricle per minute is known as the cardiac output.
However, in heart failure patients, the volume of blood pumped is reduced.
