• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.68-76
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hemodynamic changes in degree and duration that occur during Valsalva maneuver (VM). Furthermore, we wanted to investigate the patterns and mechanisms of physiological hemodynamic control. Method: Thirty six healthy college students were recruited from Y university. Each participant was provided with written informed consent. Blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), cardiac output (CO) were continuously recorded using the Finometer. Result: During the phase I of VM, means of systolic and diastolic pressures were increased by 32.15% and 38.28%, respectively, compared with basal values. HR and CO were decreased by 9.91% and 13.01%, respectively. Immediately after the maneuver (phase III), systolic and diastolic pressures were decreased by 5.05% and 6.24%, respectively, compared with those obtained in the phase II. HR and CO were elevated by 13.33% and 11.93%, respectively, compared to the levels of earlier phases. BPs were represented with overshoot in the phase IV, and recovered by baseline values about 20 sec after VM. Conclusion: These results demonstrated that hemodynamic changes are variable in the event of VM even in healthy humans. It will be valuable to accumulate more quantitative hemodynamic information in special populations such as the elderly and the patients with cardiovascular problems.