The swan ganz catheter has been named after its funders Jeremy Swan and William Ganz. The swan ganz catheter is commonly referred to as the Pulmonary artery catheter (PAC). In this method catheter is introduced in the pulmonary artery that starts from the base of the right ventricle of the heart and enters the lungs. The swan ganz catheter has various applications in the treatment of various heart ailments.
This swan ganz catheter plays an important role in the detection of various heart diseases as well as sepsis. The cardiologists use the catheter monitoring therapy and it is also used in order to evaluate the effects of various drugs. It is very useful for the clinicians as it can be used to measure the simultaneous readings of pressures in the various parts of the heart. It is possible to measure the wedge pressure of the left atrium a and the pressure in the right atrium, right ventricle, a and pulmonary artery.
The swan ganz catheter is very useful in the management of complicated myocardial infarctions that mostly affect diabetics. The catheter is used to diagnose the incidence of hypovolemia vs. cardiogenic shock. It is strategic for measuring the ventricular septal rupture vs. the acute mitral regurgitation. Severity of the ventricular failure can be measure with the swan ganz catheter. Unstable angina and refractory ventricular tachycardia are some of the ailments of the heart that are measured with the aid of the swan ganz catheter.