Evaluation of heart mechanical performance
First Claim
1. A method of evaluating the mechanical condition of a heart which method includes the steps of,noninvasively providing a pulse signal representative of arterial pulsation by placing pressure sensitive transducing means for providing an electrical signal representative of pressure in contact with the skin of a patient while applying pressure at least in part through the pressure sensitive transducing means to adjacent skin at a controlled pressure within the range of at least just above the diastolic pressure of said patient and a pressure of substantially half of said diastolic pressure,and detecting said pulse signal.
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Abstract
The invention evaluates the mechanical condition of a heart in a patient by noninvasively providing a pulse signal representative of arterial pulsation by placing a transducer sufficiently close to the skin of the patient to provide an electric signal representative of the arterial pulsation. The patient is subjected to a heart-straining maneuver to provide an arterial pulse contour squarewave signal during the heart-straining maneuver having an early strain phase amplitude at the beginning of the heart-straining maneuver and a later strain amplitude at the end of the heart-straining maneuver. An indication is provided of the ratio of the late strain phase amplitude which ratio is representative of the mechanical condition of the heart of the patient. The invention may also provide an indication of the relationship between that ratio and the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure of the patient. The invention may also provide an indication of the state of hydration of the patient.
51 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of evaluating the mechanical condition of a heart which method includes the steps of,
noninvasively providing a pulse signal representative of arterial pulsation by placing pressure sensitive transducing means for providing an electrical signal representative of pressure in contact with the skin of a patient while applying pressure at least in part through the pressure sensitive transducing means to adjacent skin at a controlled pressure within the range of at least just above the diastolic pressure of said patient and a pressure of substantially half of said diastolic pressure, and detecting said pulse signal.
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11. Apparatus for evaluating the mechanical condition of a heart of a patient having skin, comprising,
pressure sensitive transducing means responsive to arterial pulsation for providing a pulse signal representative of arterial pulsation, pressure applying means for applying controlled pressure through means including said pressure sensitive transducing means to the patient skin and maintaining said controlled pressure within the range of significantly above the diastolic pressure of said patient and a pressure substantially half said diastolic pressure, and means for detecting the change in said pulse signal during and after a heart straining maneuver reactive to said pulse signal just before said heart straining maneuver.
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14. A method of evaluating the mechanical condition of a heart in a patient which method includes the steps of,
noninvasively providing a pulse signal representative of arterial pulsation by placing transducing means for providing an electrical signal representative of said arterial pulsation closely adjacent to the skin of said patient, subjecting said patient to a heart-straining manoeuver to provide an arterial pulse contour square wave signal during said heart-straining manoeuver having an early strain phase amplitude at the beginning of said heart-straining manoeuver and a late strain phase amplitude at the end of said heart-straining manoeuver, and providing an indication of the ratio of said late strain phase amplitude to said early strain phase amplitude which ratio is representative of the mechanical condition of the heart of said patient.
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17. A method of evaluating the mechanical condition of a heart in a patient which method includes the steps of,
noninvasively providing a pulse signal representative of arterial pulsation by placing transducing means sufficiently close to the skin of said patient to provide an electrical signal representative of said arterial pulsation, subjecting said patient to a heart-straining maneuver to provide an arterial pulse contour square wave signal during said heart-straining manoeuver having an early strain phase amplitude at the beginning of said heart-straining maneuver and a late strain phase amplitude at the end of said heart-straining maneuver, and providing an indication of the ratio of said late strain phase amplitude to said early strain amplitude which ratio is representative of the mechanical condition of the heart of said patient.
Specification