Word parts
What it means
How strongly a muscle can contract. In the heart, contractility is the force of each squeeze of the myocardiummy-oh-KAR-dee-umThe thick middle layer of the heart wall, made of heart muscle that contracts to pump blood.my/o musclecardi/o heart-um structureFull entry , apart from how full the heart is. Higher contractility raises the stroke volumeSTROHK VOL-yoomThe amount of blood the left ventricle pumps out with each heartbeat.Full entry and cardiac outputKAR-dee-ak OWT-putThe amount of blood the heart pumps out in one minute.Full entry . Drugs such as digoxindih-JOK-sinA drug that makes the heart beat more strongly and more slowly.Full entry and dobutamine increase it; damage from a heart attack and some drugs, such as beta blockers, lower it.
At a glance
| Spanish | contractilidad |
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Related terms
cardiac output
The amount of blood the heart pumps out in one minute.
systole
The part of each heartbeat when the heart muscle squeezes and pumps blood out.
stroke volume
The amount of blood the left ventricle pumps out with each heartbeat.
myocardium
The thick middle layer of the heart wall, made of heart muscle that contracts to pump blood.