Measurement of cardiac output with non-invasive Aesculon impedance versus thermodilution.

Background: This study compared the non-invasive thoracic electrical bioimpedance Aesculon technique (TEB(Aesculon) ) with thermodilution (TD) to evaluate whether TEB(Aesculon) may offer a reliable means for estimating cardiac output (CO) in humans.

Material And Method: Cardiac output was measured with TD and TEB(Aesculon) in 33 patients, with a mean age ± SEM of 59 ± 2·7 years, that underwent right heart catheterization for clinical investigation of pulmonary hypertension or severe heart failure. Four to five CO measurements were performed with each technique simultaneously in 33 patients at rest, 11 during exercise and seven during NO inhalation.