Cardiac output (CO) is the volume of blood ejected by each ventricle per minute and is the product of stroke volume and heart rate. CO can thus be manipulated by alteration in heart rate or rhythm, preload, contractility and afterload. Moreover it gives important information about tissue perfusion and oxygen delivery. CO can be measured by various methods and thermodilution method using pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) is till date considered as gold standard method. Complications associated with PAC led to development of newer methods which are minimally or non-invasive. Newer methods fulfil other properties like continuous and reproducible reading, cost effective, reliable during various physiological states and have fast response time. These methods are validated against the gold standard with good level agreement. In this review we have discussed various newer methods of CO monitoring and their effectiveness in clinical use.
Keywords: Bioimpedance; Cardiac output; Doppler; Echocardiography; Pulse contour analysis; Pulse power analysis.