Described as the pressure that the chamber of the heart has to generate in order to eject blood out of the chamber.
A consequence of the aortic pressure, since the pressure in the ventricle must be greater than the systemic pressure in order to open the aortic valve.
As afterload increases, cardiac output decreases.
Afterload describes the maximum tension/compliance state of the semisolid myocardial muscle mass in end systole.