Hemodynamic Monitoring

It is amazing how the smallest of tubes can deliver medications, monitor blood pressures in and around the heart as well as measure the oxygen concentration of blood moving into the lungs and how much blood the heart can pump. The little tube is a Swans Ganz monitor, or an art line, or maybe a cvp line and the data obtained is called Hemodynamic monitoring. Hemodynamic monitoring is a way to determine how well the heart can get blood through the body. Here is what some of these little tubes do:

Art line - Art Lines measure arterial blood pressure. It can also give samples of arterial blood or blood moving away from the heart without the patient receiving a painful arterial blood gas.

CVP Line - A cvp line measures conditions of blood entering the lungs. It measures blood pressure on the right side of the heart and can be used to take blood samples, saving a patient from having multiple painful blood sticks. Since a CVP line is in a vein it can also be used to give extra fluids to a patient.

Swans Ganz - These are the most amazing things. A Swans ganz catheter can also measure cvp pressures, measure cardiac output, obtain blood samples and give an indication of the end diastolic pressure of the left side of the heart.

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Last Updated 6/29/2006 12:36:21 AM