Cardiac stroke volume in females and its correlation to blood volume and cardiac dimensions.

We aimed to continuously determine the stroke volume (SV) and blood volume (BV) during incremental exercise to evaluate the individual SV course and to correlate both variables across different exercise intensities. Twenty-six females with heterogeneous endurance capacities performed an incremental cycle ergometer test to continuously determine the oxygen uptake (V̇O), cardiac output (Q̇) and changes in BV. Q̇ was determined by impedance cardiography and resting cardiac dimensions by 2D echocardiography.