Clinical Research Papers

M Muscolo, G Germano, S Angotti, V Pecchioli, A scuteri, U Germano, M Giordano - Universita "La Sapienza" Policlinico Umberto I, Rome (Italy)

Technological evolution allowed to record high fidelity traces that - when analyzed by complex mathematical systems - may provide extremely detailed and new information about all the factors involved in the determinism of pulse wave. Suprasystolic waves, i.e. those recorded immediately before systolic pressure, may be regarded as similar to aortic pressure waves evaluated during cardiac catheterization. Suprasystolic dP/dt max was calculated from the profile of pulse wave recorded by the DynaPulse® (an automatic non-invasive oscillometric method to simultaneously measure BP and analyze arterial waveforms) in 10 normal healthy subjects and 5 subjects with dilative cardiomyopathy whose ejection fraction - invasively assessed -0 was < 40%. The mean suprasystolic dP/dt max was 405 ± 120 in normal subjects and 267 ± 135 mmHg/sec (p<0.05) in patients with cardiomyopathy and reduced ejection fraction. In conclusion, \we found a significant difference in the suprasystolic dP/dt max values between healthy subjects and patients with impaired cardiac function.