In cardiovascular physiology,<unk>  <unk>  is the<unk>  of blood in the right and/or left ventricle at<unk>  load or filling in (diastole) or the amount of blood in the ventricles just before systole. Because greater<unk> s cause greater distention of the ventricle,<unk>  is often used synonymously with preload, which refers to the length of the sarcomeres in cardiac muscle prior to contraction (systole). An increase in<unk>  increases the preload on the heart and, through the Frank-Starling mechanism of the heart, increases the amount of blood ejected from the ventricle during systole (stroke<unk> . __TOC__
End-diastolic volume
End-systolic volume
Vascular resistance
Rate pressure product
Left atrial volume
Diastolic function
Alveolar–arterial gradient
Coronary perfusion pressure