Photoplethysmography with Valsalva Maneuver Reflects Filling Pressure

What do Valsalva, the 17th century Italian physician, and smartphones have in common? Listen to our latest intriguing podcast which explores how the Valsalva Maneuver, when paired with finger photoplethysmography using a simple pulse oximetry probe, may provide cardiologists with an alternative to cardiac catheterization for heart failure patients. Associate Editor Ajay Shah interviews lead author Harry Silber (Johns Hopkins University) and expert Charles Chung (University of Arizona) about the work by Silber and colleagues, which knits together classical cardiovascular physiology, clinical cardiology, and inventive uses of existing technologies to provide insights into the left ventricular filling pressure of heart failure patients.

Harry A. Silber, Jeffrey C. Trost, Peter V. Johnston, W. Lowell Maughan, Nae-Yuh Wang, Edward K. Kasper, Thomas R. Aversano, and David E. Bush. Finger Photoplethysmography During the Valsalva Maneuver Reflects Left Ventricular Filling Pressure Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published ahead of print March 2, 2012, doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00609.2011.