What is the primary determinant of the afterload faced by the left ventricle under physiologic conditions?
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: Systemic arterial pressure and vascular resistance
Afterload is largely determined by the pressure the left ventricle must overcome to eject blood — essentially systemic arterial pressure and systemic vascular resistance.
Keep practicing
More Cardiac Cycle and Hemodynamics questions
- Which of the following statements about cardiac output (CO) is correct under steady-state physiology?
- If sympathetic stimulation increases heart contractility (inotropy) without changing preload or afterload, what happens to stroke volume an…
- Which event in the cardiac cycle corresponds most closely with the peak of the QRS complex on ECG in the context of mechanical events?
- Which change would you expect in the left ventricular pressure–volume loop if afterload is acutely increased (e.g., acute hypertension)?
- Which of the following reflexes increases heart rate in response to increased venous return/stretch of the right atrium?
- Which phase of the cardiac cycle contributes most to ventricular filling at rest under normal physiology?