The pulmonary venous systolic flow pulse—its origin and relationship to left atrial pressure

The purpose of this study was to determine the origin of the pulmonary venous systolic flow pulse using wave-intensity analysis to separate forward- and backward-going waves.The mechanism of the pulmonary venous systolic flow pulse is unclear and could be a "suction effect" due to a fall in atrial pressure (backward-going wave) or a "pushing effect" due to forward-propagation of right ventricular (RV) pressure (forward-going wave).In eight...