Hemodynamics ultimately begins with the heart which supplies the driving force for all blood flow in the body. Cardiac output propels blood through the arteries and veins as a function of ventricular contraction. Ventricular motion results from the shortening of cardiac myocytes concentrically. This squeezing motion is translated into the cardiac output, which is a function of both heart rate and ejection fraction (the starting volume after diastolic filling minus the final ventricular volume after systole). Hemodynamics represents the governing principles of this blood flow and its behavior in the blood vessels.
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