What term describes the amount of blood pumped by the heart in one minute?

The term that describes the amount of blood pumped by the heart in one minute is cardiac output. This measurement is crucial in understanding the efficiency and effectiveness of the heart as a pump, as it indicates how well oxygenated blood is circulated throughout the body to meet the metabolic needs of tissues.

Cardiac output is calculated by multiplying stroke volume—the amount of blood ejected with each heartbeat—by heart rate, which is the number of beats per minute. This relationship shows that both the volume of blood pumped with each beat and the frequency of those beats play significant roles in determining overall cardiac output.

On the other hand, stroke volume refers specifically to the volume of blood pumped per heartbeat, and heart rate measures how many times the heart beats in a minute, but neither fully encapsulates the concept of total blood flow generated by the heart over time. Cardiac index provides a similar measurement to cardiac output but adjusted for body surface area, making it useful in clinical settings for evaluating a patient's cardiovascular status.