Effect of the Valsalva maneuver on intracranial hypertension.
We describe a case of intracranial hypertension in a previously healthy 25-year-old man who sustained a head injury in a motor vehicle accident, in whom a Valsalva maneuver resulted in parallel reductions in mean arterial blood pressure, cerebral blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery, and intracranial pressure. The effects of raising intrathoracic pressure in patients with intracranial hypertension are discussed.
Matta
B
B
Department of Anesthesiology, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle 98104.
Strebel
S
S
Lam
A
A
D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000503:physiopathology; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000503:physiopathology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D003128:Coma / Q000503:physiopathology; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007427:Intracranial Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D011312:Pressure; D011559:Pseudotumor Cerebri / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013909:Thorax / Q000503:physiopathology; D014636:Valsalva Maneuver / Q000502:physiology*