What term describes the number of beats that occur in the heart each minute?

The term that refers to the number of beats that occur in the heart each minute is heart rate. Heart rate is a critical measure in exercise physiology as it indicates how often the heart contracts to pump blood throughout the body. It is typically expressed as beats per minute (bpm), and it can vary depending on physical activity levels, fitness, and overall health of an individual.

When engaged in physical activities or exercise, monitoring heart rate is essential as it reflects the intensity of the workout and helps in assessing cardiovascular fitness. Generally, a well-conditioned athlete will have a lower resting heart rate compared to a less conditioned person, as their heart is more efficient in pumping blood.

The other terms provided do not describe the number of heartbeats per minute. Blood pressure measures the force of blood against the walls of the arteries, cardiac output is the total volume of blood the heart pumps per minute, and stroke volume is the amount of blood pumped by the heart with each beat. Each of these measures provides valuable information related to heart function and cardiovascular health but specifically, heart rate is the direct measure of the frequency of heartbeats.