Hemodynamic Monitoring by Pulmonary Artery Catheterization

In the critically ill patient, changes in the cardiovascular system and in its control mechanisms are so sudden and their consequences may be so grave that direct measurement of the principle determinants and consequences of cardiac performance are frequently necessary for optimal care.1 Hemodynamic monitoring with Swan-Ganz catheter (SGC) has provided the means to rationally treat those patients with significant hemodynamic abnormalities. Hemodynamic monitoring, therefore, is simply the application of the principles of cardiac catheterization at bedside and clinically as opposed to a specialized laboratory setting. The initial double lumen catheter was first described by Swan and associates2 in 1970.2 It has undergone many modifications and can be obtained in various forms from various manufacturers.