Cardiopulmonary interactions during mechanical ventilation in critically ill patients

Cardiopulmonary interactions induced by mechan-ical ventilation are complex and only partly understood. Ap-plied tidal volumes and/or airway pressures largely mediate changes in right ventricular preload and afterload. Effects on left ventricular function are mostly secondary to changes in right ventricular loading conditions. It is imperative to dissect the several causes of haemodynamic compromise during me-chanical ventilation as undiagnosed ventricular dysfunction may contribute to morbidity and mortality.

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