Quantitative ballistocardiography in aortic insufficiency: With a note on the hemodynamic effects of a Hufnagel valve

The heaviest left ventricles are associated with aortic insufficiency, 1 although the pressure-volume component of cardiac work in this condition is said to be normal or but moderately increased. 2,3 Ventricular hypertrophy is related rather to the work of imparting momentum to the blood. The ultra-low-frequency ballistocardiograph measures the impulse of force equivalent to body momentum change, and is, therefore, ideally suited to the study of aortic insufficiency. With recording systems which largely eliminate body distortion the ballistic deflections may be related to discrete physiologic events and force expressed in absolute units. 4,5 In this investigation, an “aperiodic” ballistocardiograph is employed to measure the hyperkinesis of aortic insufficiency, to estimate the magnitude of cardiac kinetic work as reflected by body motion, and to study the hemodynamic effects of a Hufnagel valve. Though the origin of the systolic ballistic waves is known, 4 the diastolic complex is less well understood. Because the aortic standing wave is diminished or absent in advanced aortic insufficiency, 6 the ballistocardiograms of such patients may be utilized to elucidate the role of the standing wave in the genesis of diastolic vibrations.