INTRODUCTION
Low cardiac output (LCO) is a medical term that represents a syndrome associated with myocardial dysfunction and poor systemic perfusion (Mass´e and Antonacci, 2005). According to Bumann and Speltz (1989) and Jara-Rubio et al. (2009), LCO is one of the most complex and frequently observed problems in critically ill patients and in those who have undergone cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. A significant decrease in cardiac output is a life-threatening situation that requires nursing judgement and immediate action, corroborating the need for developing a risk nursing diagnosis for early intervention.