cardiac cycle

noun

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

cardiac cycle

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.

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

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

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

From Salon

British tabloids recently reported that an Alexa-enabled device made the recommendation in response to a user asking for information about the “cardiac cycle of the heart.”

From Washington Times

Subjects with lower mean arterial pressure, the average pressure in a cardiac cycle, or from beat to beat, had significant atrophy in the hippocampus, the brain’s memory center, as well as the thalamus and putamen.

From Wall Street Journal