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Cardiovascular Hemodynamics

Part of the book series: Contemporary Cardiology ((CONCARD))

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Abstract

The four major determinants of cardiac output are cardiac preload, myocardial contractility, heart rate, and afterload. Of these four elements, preload is the primary determinant. Cardiac preload is a semiquantitative composite assessment that encompasses all of the factors that contribute to passive ventricular wall stress at the end of diastole. Accurate measurement of intracardiac pressure waveforms derived from the pulmonary artery catheter is a key component of clinical hemodynamic management of patients with cardiovascular diseases. Noninvasive preload assessment techniques have practical limitations but are an area of active clinical development and could represent an important advance in heart failure care.

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Suggested Reading

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cardiology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Amanda R. Vest

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  1. Amanda R. Vest
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Correspondence to Amanda R. Vest .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Premier Health Advocates, Beachwood, OH, USA

    Arman T. Askari

  2. Gill Heart and Vascular Institute, University of Kentucky HealthCare, Lexington, KY, USA

    Adrian W. Messerli

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Vest, A.R. (2019). Preload. In: Askari, A., Messerli, A. (eds) Cardiovascular Hemodynamics. Contemporary Cardiology. Humana, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19131-3_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19131-3_1

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-19130-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-19131-3

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