How Often Does Blood Circulate Through the Body?

By Staff WriterLast Updated April 03, 2020

According to Santa Barbara City College, for an average person, the entire volume of blood in the circulatory system is pumped through the heart approximately once per minute. The average person has 5 liters of blood in their circulatory system and a cardiac output of 4.9 liters per minute.

Santa Barbara City College defines cardiac output as the volume of blood pumped by the heart per minute. This is calculated as the heart rate multiplied by the stroke volume of blood pumped by the heart with each beat. The average person has a resting heart rate of 70 beats per minute, and a stroke volume of 70 milliliters per beat, according to SBCC. This equals a cardiac output of 4900 milliliters per minute.