An Increased Preload

Question

An increased preload
A) decreases cardiac output.
B) increases stroke volume.
C) increases cardiac reserve.
D) increases afterload.

Accepted Answer

An increased preload, which refers to the amount of blood in the ventricles at the end of diastole, will stretch the cardiac muscle fibers resulting in an increased force of contraction during systole. This can lead to an increase in stroke volume, the amount of blood ejected from the ventricle with each contraction. Therefore, option B is the correct answer.