How Long Does It Take for Blood to Circulate Through the Body When at Rest?
Blood is continually circulating through the body. Every contraction of the heart muscle pushes blood into two essential and simultaneous circulatory loops. Through the systemic loop, blood brings life-sustaining oxygen to tissues and organs, and collects carbon dioxide waste. The pulmonary loops brings blood to the lungs, where carbon dioxide is released and fresh oxygen is collected. The left side of the heart controls the systemic cycle, while the right side of the heart controls the pulmonary loop.
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Circulation and the Heart
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Circulation of the blood depends on the pumping of the heart. The amount of time it takes for blood to circulate through the body varies according to the heart rate (the number of times the heart pumps per minute), and the stroke volume (the amount of blood pumped with each beat).
Factors Affecting Heart Rate
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The heart pumps more slowly when the body is at rest. Activity of any kind raises the heart rate. When you exercise, your body automatically adjusts the heart rate, also known as the pulse or beat rate, and the stroke volume to ensure that the right amount of oxygen reaches your brain and other organs. Other factors that raise the heart rate are stress, anxiety, depression, medication and being overweight.
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Average Heart Rate and Average Stroke Volume
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Resting heart rate is a marker of heart health. The average resting heart rate is about 72 beats per minute with a normal range of between 60 and 80. Physically fit people tend to have lower heart rates. The heart rate of a professional athlete may be as low as 40. Average stroke volume is 5 liters per heart beat. According to Stephen Seiler, Ph.D., Professor at Norway's Institute of Public Health, Sport and Nutrition, stroke volume increases with fitness, allowing the heart to effectively pump more blood on each beat.
Circulation Rate
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It takes about one minute for the blood of an average adult to make one entire circuit through the body at rest. Even with no physical activity, blood circulates about 1,500 times each day. Blood moves much faster during exercise, as the heart rate and stroke volume increase. During intense exercise, blood may complete a circuit in 20 seconds.
Facts About Circulation
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The heart beats 100,000 times in an average day, and three billion times in the course of a lifetime. An average adult has about 60,000 miles of veins and arteries to carry blood throughout the body. The sounds you hear when you listen to your heart beating are the regular closing of the heart valves as they push the blood out into circulation.
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References
- Drexel University Faculty Projects
- Stephen Seiler, Ph.D.; Myocardial Adaptations to Training; Masters Athlete Physiology and Performance, The Institute of Public Health, Sport and Nutrition, University of Agder, Norway
- Lansing State Journal; How long does it take your heart to circulate the total amount of blood in your body?; Dec. 1, 1993
