Wave intensity of aortic root pressure as diagnostic marker of left ventricular systolic dysfunction.

Systolic left ventricular function strongly influences the blood pressure waveform. Therefore, pressure-derived parameters might potentially be used as non-invasive, diagnostic markers of left ventricular impairment. The aim of this study was to investigate the performance of pressure-based parameters in combination with electrocardiography (ECG) for the detection of left ventricular systolic dysfunction defined as severely reduced ejection fraction (EF).Two populations, each comprising patients with reduced EF and pressure-matched controls, were included for the main analysis (51/102 patients) and model testing (44/88 patients). Central pressure was derived from radial readings and used to compute blood flow. Subsequently, pulse wave analysis and wave intensity analysis were performed and the ratio of the two peaks of forward intensity (SDR) was calculated as a novel index of ventricular function. SDR was significantly decreased in the reduced EF group (2.5 vs. 4.4, P