The formula to calculate the Fick Cardiac Output (CO) is:
\[ CO = \frac{VO_2}{(CaO_2 - CvO_2)} \]
Where:
Fick Cardiac Output is a method used to determine the cardiac output of a person’s heart. Cardiac output refers to the amount of blood the heart pumps through the circulatory system in a minute. The Fick principle, named after Adolf Fick, states that the blood flow to an organ can be calculated using a marker substance if the following information is known: the amount of the substance taken up by the organ per unit time, the concentration of the substance in the arterial blood supplying the organ, and the concentration of the substance in the venous blood leaving the organ. In the case of Fick Cardiac Output, oxygen is typically used as the marker substance. The method involves measuring the oxygen consumption in the lungs, the oxygen concentration in arterial blood, and the oxygen concentration in venous blood. The difference in oxygen concentration in the arterial and venous blood gives the amount of oxygen consumed by the body tissues, which is then used to calculate the cardiac output.
Let's assume the following values:
Step 1: Calculate the difference between arterial and venous oxygen content:
\[ CaO_2 - CvO_2 = 200 - 150 = 50 \text{ mL O}_2/\text{L} \]
Step 2: Divide the oxygen consumption by the result from Step 1:
\[ CO = \frac{250}{50} = 5 \text{ L/min} \]
The Fick Cardiac Output (CO) is 5 L/min.
