Assessment of ventriculo-arterial interaction in pulmonary arterial hypertension using wave intensity analysis.

Wave intensity analysis (WIA) is a recently described haemodynamic analysis methodology which enables assessment of ventriculo-arterial interactions via time-domain analysis of pressure and flow waveforms [1]. It enables quantification of wave energy, separation of waves into forward and backward components, and estimation of wave speed [2]. To date, WIA has not been applied to the pulmonary arterial circulation in humans. As WIA offers a potential novel approach for the study of pulmonary haemodynamics, the present study sought to evaluate the feasibility of invasive WIA of the pulmonary circulation during right heart catheterisation (RHC).