MEDizzy - If a 21-year-old male patient has a cardiac reserve of 300%

Feed Library Learning Discuss Leaderboard Journal

The Circulation (III)

If a 21-year-old male patient has a cardiac reserve of 300% and a maximum cardiac output of 16 L/min, what is his resting cardiac output?

ExplanationThis patient has a resting cardiac output of 4 L/min, and his cardiac reserve is 300% of this resting cardiac output or 12 L/min. This gives a total maximum cardiac output of 16 L/min. Therefore, the cardiac reserve is the percentage increase that the cardiac output can be elevated over the resting cardiac output.