Relation between aortic dicrotic notch pressure and mean aortic pressure in adults

It has recently been suggested that mean arterial pressure provides a reliable estimate of dicrotic notch pressure in infants and children. The aim of the present study was twofold: (1) to investigate the relation existing between aortic dicrotic notch pressure and both the steady and pulsed component of aortic pressure in adults (i.e., mean and pulse aortic pressures, respectively); and (2) to evaluate mean aortic pressure as an estimate of aortic dicrotic notch pressure. High-fidelity pressure recordings were obtained at the aortic root level in 17 men (52 +/- 13 years). Pressure data were analyzed at rest over 10 consecutive beats in each patient, and, in 6 patients, during the Valsalva maneuver (over 22 to 50 consecutive beats). At rest, dicrotic notch pressure was greater than mean pressure (109.0 +/- 17.9 vs 99.6 +/- 12.5 mm Hg, p = 0.0001). Dicrotic notch pressure was positively related to mean pressure (r = 0.93) and to pulse pressure (r' = 0.77), but not to patient's heart rate, cardiac output, or total estimated arterial compliance. There was a spontaneous beat-to-beat relation between dicrotic notch and mean pressures (1) at rest in 16 of 17 patients (mean r = 0.85), and (2) in all patients undergoing the Valsalva maneuver (mean r = 0.97). During the maneuver, intravascular mean pressure ranged from 59 to 171 mm Hg. Dicrotic notch pressure was positively related to mean pressure (r = 0.98) and to pulse pressure (r' = 0.44). Both at rest and during the Valsalva maneuver, mean pressure underestimated dicrotic notch pressure, and the higher the dicrotic notch pressure, the more negative the percent error (each p = 0.0001). In conclusion, aortic dicrotic notch pressure was mainly related to the steady component of aortic pressure. The mean aortic pressure slightly but significantly underestimated aortic dicrotic notch pressure, and thus should be used with greater caution in adults than in young patients as an estimate of end-systolic pressure.