“Another related question is
“What would be the consequences of a 1 or 2%
inequity in pumping rates?” Burton (1965) has illustrated
the dramatic consequences
of a 2% excess pumping rate
by the right heart: if the normal blood volumes of 3.3
and 1.7 liters were initially present in the systemic
and pulmonary circulations, respectively, and if
pumping rates of 5.0 and 5.1 liters/minute were postulated
for left and right ventricles, respectively; in 10 minutes of
pumping, one liter of blood would
be transferred from the systemic to the pulmonary circulation.
The resultant volumes would be 2.3 liters in the
systemic and 2.7 liters in the pulmonary circulation. Such
a situation amounts to an impossible degree of pulmonary congestion.
Burton indicates that pulmonary edema and death therefrom would rapidly
follow.”
Marlyn E. Clark, Our
Amazing Circulatory System…By Chance or Creation,
Creation Life Pub., San Diego, CA, 1976, p.
21