Correlation of the Cardiogenic Air Flow in the Respiratory Airway (i.e. the Pneumocardiogram) with Left Ventricular Stroke Volume in Dogs

The pneumocardiogram (PNCG) is a record of the pulsatile flow of air in the trachea coincident with each heart beat. In 5 anesthetized mongrel dogs, the cardiogenic air flow through an endotracheal tube was measured with a research pneumotachograph. The correlation between the pneumocardiographic volume of air, obtained by integrating the PNCG over the period of ventricular ejection, and stroke volume (SV), measured lay the saline-dilution method, was determined for a physiologic range of SV. Although the pneumocardiographic volume tracked measured SV, the former was always less. The range of correlation coefficients was 0.60 to 0.91. The results suggest that the PNCG may be suitable for continuous tracking of changes in SV on a noninvasive, beat-by-beat basis. The technique is ideally applicable to intubated human subjects, particularly those undergoing closed-chest surgical procedures.