title: Timing of the carotid arterial sounds in normal adult men: measurement of left ventricular ejection, pre-ejection period and pulse transmission time.
abstract: The first and second carotid arterial sounds (CaS1 and CaS2) were recorded simultaneously with the aortic valve echocardiogram, carotid pulse wave contour, heart sounds, and electrocardiogram in 27 healthy, normal subjects. The mean intervals between the onset of the QRS complex and the onsets of the first and second major components of the carotid arterial sounds were Q-CaS1 = 131 +/- 15 ms and Q-CaS2 = 412 +/- 36 ms, respectively. The mean delay of CaS1 after aortic valve opening was 43 +/- 6 ms, while the delay of CaS2 after aortic valve closure was 43 +/- 7 ms. The onset of CaS1 and CaS2 are exactly coincident with the upstroke and with the dicrotic notch of the carotid pulse wave contour. The recording of the carotid arterial sounds, heart sounds, and ECG has enabled us to measure systolic time intervals including the pre-ejection period, left ventricular ejection time, and pulse transmission time more easily than using the conventional method involving the carotid arterial pulse wave contour. The new approach provides accuracy and precision comparable to that of the previous methods.
authors.affiliation: Health Sciences Center, Chiba University, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rodbard
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
mesh_terms: D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology; D001314:Auscultation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000502:physiology*; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000502:physiology*; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D006801:Humans; D010701:Phonocardiography / Q000295:instrumentation; D010991:Plethysmography / Q000295:instrumentation; D011674:Pulse / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013599:Systole / Q000502:physiology*; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000502:physiology*