Pulmonary artery catheter

The 1970 developed by the two cardiologists William Ganz and Harold Jeremy Swan Swan -Ganz catheter (also: pulmonary artery, pulmonary artery catheter ) is a percutaneously via a central vein through the right atrium and the right ventricle into the trunk of the pulmonary artery outworked catheter to measure the pressures in the right heart and in the pulmonary artery, the Pulmonalarterienverschlussdruckes ( PCWP, pulmonary wedge pressure) and cardiac output (when using a Thermistorkatheters ).

It finds its use in intensive care and anesthesia and is used to monitor the cardiovascular situation in critically ill patients.

With the help of the pressure measurement in the right heart ( right atrium, right ventricle and pulmonary artery ) to draw conclusions about the function of the left heart cavities, the function of the lungs and the water balance of the body can be drawn.

Possible areas of the pulmonary catheter are eg in anesthesia in patients with heart failure and in cardiac and vascular surgery. With shock states of different origins in the ICU using the catheter in patients (cardiogenic shock, septic shock, hypovolemic shock in polytrauma ). Based on the measured pressure values ​​one can draw conclusions about the causes of states of shock and treat accordingly: either medical ( catecholamines, dissolution of clots in pulmonary embolism, by supplying volume ( fluid and blood transfusions ) ) or by surgical intervention (eg, puncture of the pericardium with hemorrhage, surgical clot removal in pulmonary embolism, heart valve surgery in valvular ).