cardiac cycle

American  

noun

1. one complete heartbeat, consisting of one contraction and relaxation of the heart.

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cardiac cycle Scientific  

1. The rhythmic contraction (systole) and relaxation (diastole) of the chambers of the heart that corresponds to one heartbeat. During the cardiac cycle, blood is pumped out of the heart into the aorta and the pulmonary artery, and blood reenters the heart from the venae cavae and the pulmonary veins. The heart's valves open and close in response to pressure differences between the chambers.

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Example Sentences

Cardiac activity can influence auditory and visual perception, and touch and sensory perceptions have been shown to be impaired during the systolic phase of the cardiac cycle when blood vessels are briefly distended.

From Science Daily • Nov. 28, 2023

An individual is susceptible to commotio cordis for about 40 milliseconds of the cardiac cycle, contributing to the rarity of the condition.

From Washington Post • Jan. 5, 2023

The human heart pumps blood through your body through a process known as a cardiac cycle.

From Salon • Jan. 4, 2023

This rise in pressure at which blood flow begins is the systolic pressure—the peak pressure in the cardiac cycle.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

This is due to a very definite influence upon the different portions of the cardiac cycle.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 4 "Diameter" to "Dinarchus" by Various