Retrograde transmission of left atrial pressure across the pulmonary capillary bed was studied in dogs employing graduated left atrial pressures. Left atrial pressures below a level of 30 to 35 mm. Hg were transmitted across the pulmonary capillary bed as mean pressures; in the case of higher left atrial pressures the cyclic changes were transmitted with a certain amount of damping. Pressures w...

The challenge of treating older, obese patients with various comorbidities has become a mainstay of anesthetic practice. In order to monitor and provide anesthesia safely, the nurse anesthetist must weigh the risks and benefits of all types of monitoring when these patients undergo major invasive procedures. One such option is the Swan-Ganz pulmonary artery catheter. During the last decade an e...

Kathleen Epping is a nurse practitioner on the cardiothoracic surgery service at Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Beth Hammer is the program manager for nursing excellence at Zablocki VA Medical Center. She is also a nurse practitioner on the cardiology/electrophysiology service. and defibrillation leads are typically implanted transvenously, using the subclavian or cephalic ve...

venous capacitance, and calf blood flow were compared in a double-blind trial in 18 patients with refractory chronic congestive heart failure with pulmonary artery end-diastolic pressures >18 mmHg. Cardiac output and right heart pressures were measured with a Swan-Ganz thermodilution catheter, arterial pressure through an indwelling radial artery cannula, and venous capacitance and calf blood f...

INTRODUCTION The placement of a Swan-Ganz catheter into the pulmonary artery may lead to a number of complications (2-17%). In less than 0.2% of cases Swan-Ganz catheterization results in serious vascular damage - pulmonary artery rupture (PAR). This paper presents two distinct forms of iatrogenic PAR treated endovascularly using different vascular devices. AIM To evaluate the effectiveness o...

A 68-year-old woman was referred for investigation of pulmonary artery hypertension. Right heart catheterisation was performed and the tip of the catheter was positioned in the right middle lobe pulmonary artery under fluoroscopic guidance. A Swan–Ganz balloon was inflated to record a pressure of 78/23 mm Hg (mean 42 mm Hg). Immediately after the balloon was inflated, the patient experienced sm...

BACKGROUND Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a devastating disease with high morbidity and mortality and limited treatment options. Recent studies have shown that pulmonary artery denervation improves pulmonary hemodynamics in an experimental model and in an early clinical trial. We aimed to evaluate the nerve distribution around the pulmonary artery, to determine the effect of radiofrequency ...

Abstract A rare case of a pulmonary arterio-venous malformation not requiring treatment is reported. An incidental peripheral right lower lobe intrapulmonary was identified on computed tomography. On catheter angiography, no artery supply identified. Systemic arteriography systemic arterial from conjoined inferior phrenic with venous drainage to the left atrium. Due this lung abnormality being ...

In order to evaluate the incidence and the significance of complications resulting from the use of flow--directed, balloon--tipped catheters to monitor critically ill patients, we made a prospective study of 116 pulmonary artery catheterizations. Indications for catheterization included shock, pulmonary edema, or hemodynamic instability following surgery. Arrhythmias, including premature atrial...