| abstract |
An apparatus for assessing cardiovascular status of a mammal comprises a system for locally applying a pressure (10) to an artery (8) capable of restricting blood flow through said artery (8), a wideband external pulse transducer (2) having an output and situated to measure suprasystolic signals proximate to said artery (8), and a computing device receiving said output for calculating vascular compliance values. The method described is particularly useful for determining cardiac output, assessing whether a pregnant female has preeclampsia or a patient has cardiac insufficiency, or assessing cardiac arrhythmias. |