What is the effect of increased Afterload on the cardiac cycle?

Increased afterload refers to the higher resistance the heart must overcome to eject blood during ventricular contraction, primarily affecting the left ventricle. When afterload is elevated, the heart faces greater difficulty in pushing blood out into the aorta. This increased pressure can lead to a decrease in stroke volume, the amount of blood pumped by the heart with each beat, because the heart may not be able to generate enough force to overcome the higher resistance effectively.

As afterload increases, the heart's contractility is challenged, which can result in a reduced volume of blood that is ejected with each contraction. Additionally, if afterload remains consistently high, the heart may undergo compensatory changes, such as hypertrophy of the ventricular walls, but this does not immediately improve stroke volume and might even further complicate cardiac function over time.

Understanding afterload's impact on the cardiac cycle is crucial for managing conditions such as hypertension or aortic stenosis, where the heart must continually adapt to sustained increased resistance.