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Wiggers diagram

The Wiggers diagram is a standardized graphical illustration of the hemodynamic events during a single cardiac cycle, depicting synchronized changes in pressure, volume, and electrical activity within the heart's chambers and great vessels.^[1] Named after Carl J. Wiggers (1883–1962), an influential American physiologist and cardiovascular researcher, the diagram was first published by him in 1921 in his paper "Studies on the Consecutive Phases of the Cardiac Cycle" in the American Journal of Physiology, recorded using early manometric techniques. Wiggers, who earned his MD from the University of Michigan in 1906 and later headed the Department of Physiology at Western Reserve University School of Medicine, developed the diagram to synthesize complex physiological data from animal experiments, making the interplay of cardiac systole and diastole more accessible for teaching and research.^[2]^[3] At its core, the diagram plots time on the horizontal axis against multiple physiological parameters on vertical axes, including electrocardiogram (ECG) tracings (e.g., P wave for atrial depolarization, QRS complex for ventricular depolarization), left atrial pressure (typically 0–10 mmHg), left ventricular pressure (rising to ~120 mmHg during systole), aortic pressure (systolic ~120 mmHg, diastolic ~80 mmHg), left ventricular volume (ejecting ~70 mL per beat), and phonocardiogram markers for heart sounds (S1 at mitral/tricuspid valve closure, S2 at semilunar valve closure).^[4] It delineates seven key phases—from atrial systole and isovolumetric ventricular contraction to rapid ventricular filling and isovolumetric relaxation—highlighting mechanical events like valve openings/closures and the pressure gradients driving blood flow.^[1] This tool remains a cornerstone of cardiovascular physiology education, enabling learners to correlate electrical, mechanical, and acoustic aspects of the heartbeat, and it aids clinicians in analyzing conditions such as valvular heart disease, heart failure, or arrhythmias by comparing patient data to the idealized model.^[5] Variations of the diagram have incorporated additional elements like right heart pressures or myocardial oxygen consumption, but the original framework endures for its clarity in demonstrating the heart's integrated function.^[4]

Overview

Definition and Purpose

The Wiggers diagram is a standardized graphical tool that plots time on the horizontal axis against multiple cardiac parameters—such as pressures in the atria, ventricles, and aorta; ventricular volumes; electrocardiographic (ECG) activity; and heart sounds—on the vertical axes to illustrate the sequence of events in one complete cardiac cycle.^[1]^[6] Named after the American physiologist Carl J. Wiggers, who developed its form in the early 20th century, the diagram has served as a foundational educational aid in cardiovascular physiology for over a century.^[6]^[7] The primary purpose of the Wiggers diagram is to demonstrate the hemodynamic interdependencies that govern cardiac performance, including how pressure gradients across heart valves dictate their opening and closure, thereby driving directional blood flow from the atria to the ventricles and into the great arteries.^[8]^[1] By integrating these variables, it provides a comprehensive view of how mechanical actions, such as ventricular contraction and relaxation, are coordinated to maintain efficient circulation.^[9] A key feature of the diagram is the synchronization of all tracings along a shared time axis, which highlights the precise timing and simultaneity of physiological events—for instance, the alignment of ECG depolarization waves with the onset of mechanical contraction.^[9]^[6] This temporal alignment facilitates a deeper conceptual understanding of the cardiac cycle's phases, systole and diastole, and supports the analysis of both normal function and alterations in pathological states, such as arrhythmias or valvular disorders.^[1]^[8]

Basic Layout

The Wiggers diagram employs a horizontal time axis that spans one complete cardiac cycle, typically approximately 0.8 seconds at a heart rate of 75 beats per minute, with markings in seconds or as percentages of the total cycle duration.^[9]^[10] The tracings are arranged in a vertical stack from top to bottom, commonly including aortic pressure, left ventricular pressure, left atrial pressure, left ventricular volume, electrocardiogram (ECG), and phonocardiogram, allowing for direct temporal alignment across parameters.^[1]^[9] Scale conventions for the vertical axes standardize measurements, with pressures expressed in millimeters of mercury (mmHg)—such as aortic pressure reaching up to 120 mmHg and left ventricular pressure up to 120 mmHg during systole—and volume in milliliters (mL), for example, ranging from 120 mL at end-diastole to 50 mL at end-systole.^[1]^[9] The diagram maintains a standard left-to-right orientation to represent the progression of time, with annotations along the bottom indicating the open or closed states of cardiac valves to facilitate correlation of mechanical events.^[10]^[9]

Historical Development

Carl J. Wiggers and Creation

Carl J. Wiggers (1883–1963) was an American physiologist renowned for his pioneering work in cardiovascular research. Born on May 28, 1883, in Davenport, Iowa, he earned his M.D. from the University of Michigan in 1906, where he began his research under Warren P. Lombard, publishing his first paper in 1905 on the effects of adrenalin on cerebral blood vessels.^[11] Wiggers served as an instructor at the University of Michigan from 1907 to 1911, then moved to Cornell University Medical College as an assistant professor from 1911 to 1918. In 1918, he joined Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University) in Cleveland as a professor of physiology, a position he held until his retirement in 1953, during which he established a major center for cardiovascular studies.^[12] His career was marked by nearly 400 publications and seven books, focusing on circulatory dynamics, shock, and cardiac function.^[11] Wiggers' development of the diagram that bears his name emerged in the 1910s and early 1920s, amid rapid advances in physiological recording techniques. After training with Otto Frank in Munich in 1912, where he learned optical manometry, Wiggers improved these methods to accurately capture blood pressure pulses and contours in experimental animals.^[11] His early work included 1912 studies on pulmonary artery pressures in dogs, using optical recording to compare pulmonary and systemic circulations.^[11] A foundational step came in his 1917 publication, "The Electrocardiogram: Its Relation to Cardiodynamic Events," which first integrated electrocardiographic tracings with mechanical pressure recordings to illustrate temporal relationships in the cardiac cycle.^[13] The diagram's seminal form appeared in his 1921 paper, "Studies on the Consecutive Phases of the Cardiac Cycle," where he presented a composite graphic subdividing the cycle into eight phases based on synchronized recordings.^[3] Wiggers' motivations stemmed from his research on pulmonary circulation and the need to bridge gaps in understanding heart-lung interactions. His 1912 experiments highlighted discrepancies in pressure dynamics between pulmonary and systemic circuits, prompting efforts to correlate electrical activation (via ECG) with mechanical events like pressure and volume changes to clarify overall cardiodynamics.^[11] This integration addressed limitations in prior isolated measurements, providing a unified view of how electrical impulses drive hemodynamic responses. The initial versions of the diagram emphasized left heart pressures alongside ECG tracings, derived from manual kymograph and optical manometer recordings in canine experiments. These early depictions avoided complex volume measurements, focusing instead on aortic, ventricular, and atrial pressure curves aligned with electrocardiographic waves to delineate systolic and diastolic phases. Such formats, reproduced in his 1915 book Modern Aspects of the Circulation in Health and Disease, laid the groundwork for visualizing the cardiac cycle's temporal sequence.^[14]

Evolution Over Time

Following its initial publication in 1915, the Wiggers diagram saw early adoption in the 1930s through integration into key physiology textbooks, such as Winton and Bayliss's Human Physiology (1930), where it was presented as a foundational illustration of cardiac cycle dynamics. This period marked the diagram's transition from experimental recordings to a standardized educational tool, with refinements including the addition of ventricular volume tracings and atrial pressure curves to better capture hemodynamic relationships, as detailed in Wiggers' Cardiac Dynamics (1947). In the mid-20th century, post-World War II advancements in physiological laboratories further standardized the diagram through the use of improved optical manometers, enabling more accurate simultaneous pressure recordings. By the 1950s, versions commonly incorporated phonocardiograms to denote heart sounds, reflecting enhanced instrumentation for acoustic signals, as evidenced in Rushmer's work (1955) and the fifth edition of Wiggers' Physiology in Health and Disease (1949). These updates solidified the diagram's core elements—left atrial, ventricular, and aortic pressures alongside electrocardiographic and volume tracings—while omitting earlier peripheral pulse curves from Wiggers' 1915 formulations for clarity. The diagram achieved widespread recognition as a staple in medical curricula by the 1960s, supporting the teaching of cardiovascular physiology in academic settings. Entering the digital era from the 1980s onward, computer-generated iterations introduced precise scaling and reproducibility, facilitating detailed overlays in research publications.^[15] In the 2000s and beyond, specialized variants emerged for pathological contexts, such as heart failure tracings that highlight altered pressure-volume loops, without disrupting the fundamental layout; for instance, additions like right heart pressures or echocardiographic integrations appear in targeted diagrams to illustrate disease-specific deviations.^[6]

Components

Pressure Curves

The pressure curves in the Wiggers diagram illustrate the dynamic changes in pressure within the left atrium, left ventricle, and aorta throughout the cardiac cycle, providing a visual representation of how these variations drive blood flow across valvular boundaries.^[1] These tracings are typically plotted against time, aligned with electrocardiographic (ECG) events for temporal context, emphasizing the sequential pressure relationships that ensure unidirectional circulation.^[1] The aortic pressure curve exhibits a characteristic waveform reflecting systemic arterial dynamics. During ventricular ejection, it rises to a systolic peak of approximately 120 mmHg, driven by left ventricular output.^[1] Following peak systole, a brief incisura known as the dicrotic notch appears, resulting from the closure of the aortic valve and elastic recoil of the aortic wall, after which pressure declines gradually to a diastolic minimum of about 80 mmHg, maintained by peripheral vascular resistance.^[1]^[16] In contrast, the left ventricular pressure curve demonstrates more pronounced fluctuations tied to myocardial contraction and relaxation. It begins with a rapid rise during isovolumetric contraction, increasing from end-diastolic levels to approximately 120 mmHg as the ventricle generates force without volume change, exceeding aortic pressure to open the semilunar valve.^[1] During the ejection phase, pressure plateaus near this systolic peak before falling sharply during isovolumetric relaxation to near 0 mmHg, allowing the pressure to drop below atrial levels without altering ventricular volume.^[16] This steep decline underscores the ventricle's elastic recoil and rapid deactivation of contractile elements.^[1] The left atrial pressure curve, though lower in magnitude, features distinct waves that reflect atrial filling and contraction. It maintains a low baseline of approximately 5–10 mmHg during much of the cycle, corresponding to mean left atrial pressure. The 'a' wave, peaking at around 10 mmHg, arises from atrial systole, augmenting ventricular filling late in diastole. The 'v' wave, reaching 10–15 mmHg, forms due to venous inflow accumulating in the atrium while the mitral valve is closed during ventricular systole. A smaller 'c' wave, caused by bulging of the mitral valve leaflets into the atrium during early ventricular contraction, superimposes briefly on the ascending v wave.^[1] These pressure curves establish critical gradients that govern valvular opening and closing. The atrioventricular (AV) gradient occurs in diastole when atrial pressure exceeds ventricular pressure (typically 5–10 mmHg difference), facilitating passive and active filling through the mitral valve.^[1] Conversely, the semilunar gradient emerges in systole as ventricular pressure surpasses aortic pressure (by ~10–20 mmHg at peak), enabling ejection into the aorta while the AV valve remains closed.^[1]^[16] Ventricular pressure dynamics are further contextualized by the law of Laplace, which relates intracavitary pressure to myocardial wall stress. For a spherical ventricular model, wall tension T is given by

T = \frac{P \cdot r}{2h},

where P is transmural pressure, r is ventricular radius, and h is wall thickness; this equation highlights how elevated pressure during systole increases wall stress, influencing myocardial oxygen demand and hypertrophy responses.^[17]

Volume and Flow Tracings

The volume tracings in the Wiggers diagram primarily depict changes in left ventricular volume over the cardiac cycle, illustrating how the ventricle fills and empties to maintain circulation. In a typical adult heart, the left ventricular end-diastolic volume (EDV) is approximately 120 mL, representing the maximum volume at the end of ventricular filling just before systole begins. During systole, the ventricle ejects blood, reducing the volume to an end-systolic volume (ESV) of about 50 mL. The difference between these volumes yields the stroke volume (SV), calculated as EDV minus ESV, which is roughly 70 mL per beat.^[18] The shape of the left ventricular volume curve in the Wiggers diagram reflects the distinct phases of the cardiac cycle. It remains flat during the isovolumetric contraction and relaxation phases, where all heart valves are closed and no blood enters or leaves the ventricle, maintaining constant volume. During the ejection phase, the curve shows a relatively linear decrease as blood is expelled into the aorta. In the filling phase of diastole, the volume gradually increases, driven by passive inflow from the atria followed by active atrial contraction.^[1] Although the Wiggers diagram does not typically include a direct aortic flow tracing, flow dynamics are implied through the rate of volume change (dV/dt), which peaks during rapid ejection and correlates with the volume decrease observed. The ejection fraction, a key measure of ventricular efficiency, is derived from the volume tracing as SV divided by EDV, yielding approximately 58% in healthy individuals. This metric underscores the proportion of EDV ejected per cycle, highlighting systolic performance.^[18]^[1] In modern physiological assessments, left ventricular volume tracings are derived using techniques such as conductance catheters for real-time measurement or echocardiography for noninvasive imaging, though the classic Wiggers diagram relies on idealized representations based on averaged human data. These methods allow for precise quantification but simplify complex geometries in diagrammatic form.^[1] A key conceptual element often embedded within or derived from the volume tracings is the pressure-volume (PV) loop, which plots ventricular pressure against volume to form a closed cycle, though it is not always explicitly shown in the standard time-based Wiggers diagram. Within this loop, the end-systolic pressure-volume relationship (ESPVR) appears as a linear segment connecting end-systolic points across varying loads, serving as an index of myocardial contractility; a steeper ESPVR slope indicates enhanced ventricular function. The volume changes in the Wiggers tracing correspond to the horizontal shifts in the PV loop, briefly aligning with pressure rises during isovolumetric phases as noted in pressure curve analyses.^[19]

Electrical and Acoustic Signals

The electrical signals in the Wiggers diagram are represented by the electrocardiogram (ECG), which captures the heart's electrical activity driving mechanical contractions. The ECG trace includes key components that align temporally with hemodynamic events: the P wave denotes atrial depolarization, initiating atrial systole; the QRS complex signifies ventricular depolarization, triggering ventricular systole; and the T wave indicates ventricular repolarization, corresponding to the onset of ventricular relaxation.^[1] These waves illustrate the sequential excitation of cardiac chambers, with electrical impulses preceding mechanical responses by milliseconds due to the excitation-contraction coupling delay.^[6] Specific intervals on the ECG provide timing context for the cardiac cycle. The PR interval, measured from the start of the P wave to the beginning of the QRS complex, typically lasts approximately 0.12 to 0.20 seconds and encompasses atrioventricular nodal conduction delay, ensuring coordinated atrial-to-ventricular timing.^[1] The QT interval, from the QRS onset to the T wave end, averages about 0.35 to 0.44 seconds at rest (varying inversely with heart rate) and spans the full duration of ventricular systole, including depolarization, contraction, and repolarization.^[1] The overall cardiac cycle duration, from one QRS complex to the next, equals 60 seconds divided by the heart rate (e.g., 0.8 seconds at 75 beats per minute), encompassing both systole and diastole.^[1] Synchronization between ECG and mechanical events is central to the diagram's utility. The QRS complex onset marks the start of isovolumetric contraction, as ventricular depolarization rapidly elevates pressure without volume change.^[6] Conversely, the T wave end aligns with the initiation of isovolumetric relaxation, preceding valve reopening and diastolic filling.^[6] This temporal linkage highlights how electrical activation orchestrates pressure and flow dynamics. Acoustic signals, depicted via the phonocardiogram, record heart sounds arising from mechanical vibrations during the cycle. The first heart sound (S1) occurs at the onset of systole, produced by vibrations from abrupt closure of the atrioventricular (mitral and tricuspid) valves, as blood deceleration tenses the valve apparatus, chordae tendineae, and surrounding structures.^[20] S1 aligns with the QRS complex and mitral valve closure. The second heart sound (S2) marks diastole onset, generated by oscillations in the semilunar (aortic and pulmonic) valves and great vessels upon their closure, driven by sudden retrograde blood flow deceleration against elastic limits.^[21] S2 follows the T wave and corresponds to dicrotic notches in arterial pressure tracings. In pathological conditions, additional sounds may appear: S3 from rapid early diastolic ventricular filling against reduced compliance, and S4 from forceful late diastolic atrial contraction into a stiff ventricle.^[22] These acoustic events provide auditory correlates to valve dynamics, enhancing the diagram's integration of sensory and physiological data.

Key Physiological Events

Ventricular Systole

Ventricular systole in the Wiggers diagram represents the phase of the cardiac cycle during which the left ventricle contracts to eject blood into the aorta, spanning approximately 0.3 seconds at a heart rate of 75 beats per minute. This period is initiated by the QRS complex on the electrocardiogram, which triggers ventricular depolarization and subsequent contraction. The diagram illustrates the synchronized rise in left ventricular pressure alongside a decrease in ventricular volume, highlighting the mechanical efficiency of the heart in generating systemic blood flow. The systole begins with isovolumetric contraction, where the atrioventricular (AV) valves close, producing the first heart sound (S1), and the ventricle contracts without any change in volume. During this brief phase, left ventricular pressure rises rapidly from end-diastolic levels of about 5 mmHg to exceed the aortic diastolic pressure of approximately 80 mmHg, ensuring the semilunar valves remain closed until the pressure threshold is met. This pressure buildup, depicted as a steep upward curve in the diagram, prepares the ventricle for ejection without backflow into the atria. Ejection follows once ventricular pressure surpasses aortic pressure, causing the aortic valve to open and blood to be propelled into the aorta. This phase consists of an initial rapid ejection phase, where ventricular pressure peaks at around 120 mmHg—matching the aortic systolic pressure—and ventricular volume decreases sharply as approximately 70 mL of blood (stroke volume) is expelled. It transitions into a reduced ejection phase, where ejection slows as ventricular pressure begins to decline slightly while still exceeding aortic pressure, further reducing volume to an end-systolic residual of about 50-60 mL. The diagram shows this as a corresponding drop in the volume tracing and a plateauing pressure curve. End-systole marks the conclusion of ventricular systole, with the aortic valve closing when ventricular pressure falls below aortic pressure, generating the second heart sound (S2) and the dicrotic notch on the aortic pressure waveform. An initial isovolumetric relaxation then ensues, where ventricular pressure drops without volume change, setting the stage for the subsequent diastolic phase. These events underscore the precise timing and pressure-volume relationships central to the Wiggers diagram's representation of cardiac output.

Ventricular Diastole

Ventricular diastole in the Wiggers diagram represents the relaxation and filling phase of the cardiac cycle, during which the ventricles repolarize following systole and prepare for the next contraction by accommodating incoming blood from the atria. This phase is depicted through synchronized tracings of left ventricular pressure, volume, and related events, highlighting the transition from high post-ejection pressures to low filling levels. The diagram illustrates how atrial-ventricular pressure gradients drive passive and active filling, ensuring efficient preload for subsequent systole.^[1]^[4] The diastole begins with isovolumetric relaxation, a brief period immediately after aortic valve closure where both semilunar (aortic and pulmonic) and atrioventricular (AV) valves remain closed, preventing any blood flow into or out of the ventricle. During this time, ventricular pressure rapidly declines from approximately 80 mmHg to near 0 mmHg due to myocardial relaxation, while ventricular volume remains constant at the end-systolic level (around 50-60 mL). This phase, lasting about 0.05-0.1 seconds, coincides with the second heart sound (S2), produced by semilunar valve closure.^[1]^[4]^[8] Once ventricular pressure falls below atrial pressure, the AV valves (mitral and tricuspid) open, initiating rapid filling, the dominant early subphase of diastole characterized by passive inflow of blood from the atria to the ventricles driven by the pressure gradient. This results in a swift increase in ventricular volume, accounting for about 70% of the total stroke volume (typically 70-80 mL in adults), with minimal rise in ventricular pressure (0-5 mmHg). The rapid filling phase contributes most to the overall ventricular filling efficiency and lasts approximately 0.1 seconds.^[1]^[4]^[23] Following rapid filling, diastasis occurs as a slower filling period where the pressure gradient between the atrium and ventricle diminishes, leading to gradual additional inflow at a reduced rate. Ventricular volume continues to increase modestly, but the phase is marked by near-equilibrium pressures (around 0-2 mmHg), and it occupies much of the mid-diastolic interval, contributing only a small fraction to total filling. This subphase reflects the balance between ongoing venous return and minimal atrial contraction influence until late diastole.^[1]^[4]^[8] Diastole culminates at end-diastole, where atrial systole (the "atrial kick") provides the final active contribution, boosting ventricular volume by 20-30% (about 20-30 mL) through coordinated atrial contraction that elevates atrial pressure briefly (5-8 mmHg). This increases end-diastolic volume to approximately 120-130 mL, optimizing ventricular preload via the Frank-Starling mechanism. Overall, ventricular diastole spans about 0.5 seconds in a typical 70-80 bpm heart rate, with the early rapid filling phase being the most prominent for volume accrual.^[1]^[4]^[23]

Atrial Contributions

In the Wiggers diagram, atrial systole is depicted as the final phase of ventricular diastole, triggered by the P wave on the electrocardiogram, which represents atrial depolarization and initiates coordinated atrial contraction.^[4] This contraction generates the 'a' wave in the atrial pressure tracing, typically peaking at approximately 10 mmHg, which briefly elevates atrial pressure above ventricular pressure to facilitate additional blood transfer into the ventricles.^[24] The atrial kick from this systole augments ventricular end-diastolic volume by 20–30 mL, accounting for about 20–30% of total ventricular filling and optimizing preload for the subsequent ventricular contraction.^[9] During atrial diastole, which encompasses most of the cardiac cycle, the 'v' wave appears in the atrial pressure curve due to ongoing pulmonary venous return accumulating blood in the atria while the atrioventricular valves are closed during ventricular systole.^[4] This wave reflects passive atrial filling and helps maintain relatively low atrial pressures (typically 8–10 mmHg mean) to support continuous venous inflow without impeding ventricular relaxation in early diastole.^[25] The resulting pressure gradient, where atrial pressure exceeds ventricular pressure following ventricular systole, drives passive ventricular filling during the initial diastolic phase.^[1] Atrioventricular (AV) synchrony, as illustrated in the Wiggers diagram, ensures that atrial systole occurs approximately 0.1 seconds before ventricular systole, allowing complete ventricular filling prior to ejection.^[26] This precise timing, facilitated by the AV nodal delay, maximizes stroke volume; disruption, such as in atrial fibrillation, leads to loss of coordinated atrial contribution and reduces stroke volume by up to 20%.^[27]

Applications

In Education

The Wiggers diagram serves as a foundational teaching tool in physiology and medical education, effectively illustrating the intricate temporal relationships among electrical activity, pressure changes, volume variations, and flow dynamics throughout the cardiac cycle. By integrating multiple physiological traces into a single graphical representation, it enables students to correlate electrocardiogram (ECG) deflections with mechanical events, such as ventricular contraction and relaxation, fostering a deeper understanding of cardiac function. This visualization has been a staple in medical school curricula since the 1930s, originating from Carl Wiggers' experimental work and enduring as a core resource for over 90 years.^[6]^[15] In lectures on the cardiac cycle, the diagram is routinely employed to demonstrate how physiological alterations, like tachycardia, shorten the cycle duration and compress traces—particularly reducing diastolic filling time and altering pressure-volume relationships—helping learners grasp the impact of heart rate on overall hemodynamics. Educational simulations derived from the diagram allow interactive exploration of these changes, where students can adjust parameters such as preload or afterload to observe real-time effects on traces, reinforcing conceptual links between theory and dynamic processes.^[28] The diagram's advantages lie in its capacity to demystify abstract notions, including pressure gradients that propel blood flow according to fluid dynamics principles akin to Ohm's law, expressed as \text{flow} = \frac{\Delta P}{R}, where \Delta P is the pressure difference and R is resistance. Interactive digital adaptations, such as animated software and web-based platforms, amplify these benefits by enabling user-driven manipulations that enhance retention and engagement beyond static images.^[29] Despite its strengths, the Wiggers diagram depicts an idealized normal cardiac cycle, limiting its direct applicability to abnormal conditions without supplementary explanations, and demands prerequisite knowledge of basics like vascular resistance to fully interpret flow tracings. It is frequently paired with animations, quizzes, and explanatory modules in textbooks such as Guyton and Hall's Textbook of Medical Physiology, where it anchors discussions of systolic and diastolic phases to build integrative physiological insights.^[6]

In Clinical Practice

In clinical practice, the Wiggers diagram serves as a foundational tool for interpreting hemodynamic alterations in cardiac pathologies, allowing clinicians to map abnormal pressure and volume tracings to specific disease states. For instance, in aortic stenosis, the diagram illustrates markedly elevated left ventricular pressure during systole, often peaking at 200 mmHg compared to normal levels around 120 mmHg, while aortic pressure remains reduced at approximately 110 mmHg, creating a significant transvalvular gradient exceeding 100 mmHg that reflects outflow obstruction.^[30] Similarly, in heart failure such as cardiac amyloidosis, the diagram highlights reduced stroke volume due to impaired ventricular filling and ejection, accompanied by elevated left ventricular end-diastolic pressures (e.g., 24 mmHg pulmonary capillary wedge pressure) and low cardiac output (e.g., 2.9 L/min), underscoring systolic and diastolic dysfunction.^[31] During cardiac catheterization, invasive pressure measurements are overlaid onto the Wiggers diagram to assess valvular function, enabling precise quantification of abnormalities. For valve regurgitation, such as mitral regurgitation, simultaneous left atrial and ventricular pressure tracings reveal retrograde flow, with large v-waves in left atrial pressure indicating significant incompetence and guiding decisions on repair or replacement.^[32] This correlation helps differentiate regurgitation severity from stenosis and informs hemodynamic stability during procedures. Modern extensions integrate the Wiggers diagram with echocardiography, particularly Doppler imaging, to provide real-time visualization of flow dynamics aligned with pressure events. Doppler spectra of mitral inflow and aortic outflow, when synchronized with the diagram's timeline, reveal timing discrepancies in pathologies like atrioventricular block, where near-isorrhythmic dissociation disrupts ventricular filling, confirming electrocardiographic findings and enhancing diagnostic accuracy for rhythm disorders.^[33] The diagram also informs therapeutic strategies by demonstrating how interventions restore normal hemodynamics. Cardiac pacing, for example, reestablishes atrioventricular synchrony, optimizing atrial contributions to ventricular filling as depicted in the atrial contraction phase, thereby improving stroke volume in bradyarrhythmias.^[34] Vasodilators reduce afterload, shifting the pressure-volume loop rightward on the diagram to increase ejection fraction and lower ventricular pressures, which is particularly beneficial in hypertensive heart disease or failure with preserved ejection fraction. Illustrative case examples further highlight the diagram's utility. In hypotension, tracings show diminished aortic pressure waveforms (e.g., systolic peaks below 90 mmHg), correlating with reduced cardiac output and prompting evaluation for hypovolemia or vasodilatory shock.^[4] Arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation, disrupt the diagram's timing by abolishing coordinated atrial systole, leading to variable ventricular filling and irregular pressure peaks that exacerbate symptoms like reduced cardiac efficiency.^[1]

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A Brief Review of Hemodynamics for Structural Interventions Part 1
Normal Mitral Valve Hemodynamics. The famous Charles Wiggers diagram (Figure 3) describes normal cardiac pressures over the cardiac cycle corresponding to ...<|separator|>
[34]
Doppler Echocardiography Unraveling Lewis and Wiggers Diagrams
Oct 24, 2012 · In Figure 2, panel D shows a Lewis diagram of the block, and panel E proposes a schematic Wiggers diagram of atrial (blue line), ventricular ( ...
[35]
Basic Physiology and Hemodynamics of Cardiac Pacing
Mar 2, 2015 · Electrical Activation During Sinus Rhythm. The cardiac action potential originates from the sinus node, located high in the right atrium ...