CARDIAC OUTPUT AND INTRACARDIAC PRESSURES IN PATIENTS WITH ARTERIOVENOUS FISTULAS 1

Abstract

Temporary occlusion of a peripheral arteriovenous fistula was followed by a fall in cardiac output and stroke volume in 4 out of 6 patients. Mean right atrial pressure, diastolic pressure in the right ventricle and mean pulmonary arterial pressure decreased slightly in some patients and did not change in others when the fistula was occluded. Occlusion of a large arteriovenous fistula is probably followed by a redistribution of blood inside the vascular system, with a reduction in the volume of blood in the pulmonary arteries and perhaps the great veins and right heart, and an increase in the amt. of blood distending the systemic arterial tree.