Chapter 20, Problem 21CP

Summary Introduction

To review:

The Frank–Starling law of the heart along with its significance.

Introduction:

The stroke volume (SV) is the amount of blood that leaves the ventricles during each contraction. It depends on the preload, contractibility, and afterload on heart muscles. The cardiac muscles remain in a stretched position even before a contraction. According to the Frank-Starling law stroke volume of the heart increases in response to an increase in the volume of blood in the ventricles, before contraction (the end diastolic volume), when all other factors remain constant.