The relationship between heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output
I can explain the relationship between heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output.
The relationship between heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output
I can explain the relationship between heart rate, stroke volume and cardiac output.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Heart rate is the number of times the heart beats per minute (bpm).
- Stroke volume is the volume of blood pumped by the heart with each beat (measured in millilitres, mL).
- Cardiac Output is the volume of blood pumped by the heart per minute (measured in litres per minute, L/min).
- Cardiac output (Q) is calculated by multiplying the heart rate (HR) by the stroke volume (SV).
- A heart rate graph shows exercise intensity over a period of time.
Keywords
Heart rate - the number of times the heart beats per minute (bpm)
Stroke volume - the volume of blood pumped out of the heart by each ventricle with each beat (measured in millilitres, ml)
Cardiac output - the volume of blood pumped per minute by each ventricle of the heart (measured in litres per minute, l/min). Calculated as heart rate x stroke volume
Common misconception
Pupils often draw heart rate down to zero on a line graph.
Even at rest your heart is still beating, on average 72 beats per minute, to ensure blood is always circulating around the body to keep you alive.
Equipment
Graph paper
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
the sequence of events in a heartbeat (contraction and relaxation)
the contraction phase of the heartbeat
the relaxation phase of the heartbeat
the force exerted by the blood on blood vessel walls
a specialised type of involuntary muscle found in the heart
the contraction phase to pump blood out of the heart
the relaxation phase for the heart to fill with blood
the muscular wall dividing the left and right sides of the heart
the top chambers of the heart
the bottom chambers of the heart
Exit quiz
6 Questions
the number of times the heart beats per minute
the amount of blood pumped by the heart with each beat
the volume of blood pumped out of the heart per minute
the force exerted by the blood on the blood vessel walls
heart rate response to steady state exercise
stroke volume response to exercise for untrained person
stroke volume response to exercise for a trained person
cardiac output response to exercise for untrained person
cardiac output response to exercise for trained person