[Hemodynamics in patients during artificial respiration].

The assessment and monitoring of the hemodynamic variables during mechanical ventilation must be interpreted in terms of both the cardiovascular status and the influence of several pathophysiological features observed frequently in patients requiring ventilatory support for the treatment of acute pulmonary failure, i.e. 1. hyperdynamic cardiovascular status, 2. pulmonary hypertension, 3. cardio-circulatory depression by mechanical ventilation, and 4. errors in the measured values secondary to the variations in intrathoracic pressure. An understanding of these factors, as well as of the influence of mechanical ventilation and of the circulating blood volume, allows precise evaluation of the cardio-circulatory situation.