[Determination of cardiac output using impedance-cardiography in comparison with conventional methods during rest and...

A recording of the changes in the transthoracic resistance as a function of the cardiac cycle enables--in connection with the ejection time--a non-invasive determination of the cardiac output (impedance cardiography). On volunteers without heart diseases the cardiac output according to the Fick principle, the impedance-cardiographic and sphygmographic method at rest and under pharmacological influence is synchronously measured and statistically compared with the found cardiac output according to Fick. Especially under pharmacological influence the impedance-cardiographically determined values do not show a sufficient correlation. The range of error, is causes as well as the limited possibility of application of the method are being discussed.