Performance of the right ventricle: a pressure plane analysis.

A load invariant presentation of the heart's ventricular performance has been investigated. Flow from the right ventricle of isolated cat hearts was passed through a controlled, variable load. Ventricular pressure and flow were recorded and ventricular volume computed by flow integration. The three-dimensional trajectories of ventricular pressure, ventricular volume and time after onset of contraction all closely followed a single three-dimensional surface, which was denoted as the PVt surface. The PVt surface depends on the inotropic condition of the heart, but is load invariant. It is therefore a measure of the intrinsic ventricular performance. Given the arterial load on the ventricle, it can be applied for predictions of pressure and flow profiles, as well as any parameter related to them.