The first thing I'll do is refer you to the
Pulmonary Artery Catheter Education Project.
The next I will do is explain dampening. Fluid hemodynamic monitoring works by having waves transmitted by pressure fluctuations through fluid to the transducer which modifies the waves into electrical impulses much the same way as clapping your hands creates waves in the air (noise) to reach your ears.
The oscillations on the waveform after a square wave indicate how much noise is reaching the transducer. Too few jumps means that your system is overdamped--think earmuffs. Not enough noise is reaching the transducer. Too many jumps mean that the system is underdamped--your hands clapping into a bullhorn.
What are the implications? Underdampening will trend your numbers to higher systolics and lower diastolics; overdampening will lead to lower systolics and higher diastolics.
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