Hemodynamic waveform analysis

The pulmonary artery catheter provides the opportunity to acquire indirectly important diagnostic and therapeutic information about the function of the two pumping chambers of the heart--the right and left ventricles--during the two phases of the cardiac cycle--systole and diastole. Appropriate use of hemodynamic data acquired via the pulmonary artery catheter requires the accurate measurement, analysis, and interpretation of hemodynamic pressure waveforms.