Cardiac output (known as âQâ) is a measure of the amount of blood that is pumped out of the heart in one minute. âQâ specifically refers to the amount of blood pumped out of the left ventricle as this is the ventricle that supplies blood to the muscles and organs of the body.
Preload is defined as the actual stretch or tension on the ventricular myocardium prior to contraction (Totora & Gabowski 2002). The greater the preload on the myocardium (the larger the amount of blood that has filled the heart during diastole), the greater the contraction will be.
C. Afterload â As afterload increases stroke volume decreases. 8. What is preload and how does it affect to stroke volume? What is the Frank starling law? Preload â The stretching of the ventricle when it is filled. Frank Starling Law â The greater the stretching of the heart during filling of the chambers (i.e. preload), the greater the