The pulmonary artery catheter is more popularly known as the swan ganz catheter. If you are wondering where did the name Swan Ganz come from, then you must refer to history of invention of the Swan Ganz catheter. It has been named in honor of its founders Jeremy Swan and William Ganz. Swan Ganz were consultants at the cedars –Sinai medical center and they stumbled upon the idea of a balloon tip modification of the standard Ronald bardley’s simple protex tubing method.
According to Swan Ganz when he was observing boats sailing on a beach , he noted that the ones with a soinaker moved faster and it hit upon him at he could apply the same technique in a catheter. This lead to the invention of the swan ganz catheter. This rudimentary design was fabricated by Edwards laboratories and it forms the popular swan ganz catheter that has immense significance in the treatment of various heart ailments.
The pulmonary artery catheter has many uses as it is applied for the assessment of myocardial infarctions, respiratory distress including pulmonary edema and pulmonary hypertension. It can be used to assess the extent of shock and for the assessment of therapy. Fluid requirements in critically ill patients can be monitored with the help of the swan ganz catheter.