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Fig. 4 | Critical Care

Fig. 4

From: Left ventricular function: time-varying elastance and left ventricular aortic coupling

Fig. 4

Three differently loaded cardiac cycles. The end-systolic pressure–volume points all lie on a line termed the end-systolic pressure–volume relationship (ESPVR). The slope of the ESPVR is Emax, maximum elastance. At any time during systolic contraction (e.g., 50-ms time points are shown as filled circles) a line can be drawn connecting pressure–volume points from each of the differently loaded contractions defining elastance (ΔP/ΔV) at that time point. Ventricular systolic contraction can therefore be regarded as a time-varying elastance

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