Noninvasive central hemodynamic monitoring in the primary care setting: improving prevention and management of cardiovascular diseases

BACKGROUND: Although cardiovascular disease (CVD) has markedly declined since the early 1960s due to medical advances and better management, this condition persists as the most critical and preventable cause of death in the US. For that reason, the identification and application of more sensitive, specific, validated, and noninvasive biomarkers of cardiovascular functioning in the primary care setting for the early identification of CVD risk at the subclinical level are warranted. AIM: The goal of the present review is twofold: first, to familiarize the primary care practitioner with noninvasive aortic hemodynamic parameters, including how these could be integrated into primary care services and patient management, and second, to propose a model for earlier detection of CVD based on the noninvasive hemodynamic parameters in the primary care setting. RELEVANCE FOR PATIENTS: Implementation of noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring in a primary care setting could help in the identification of heart disease risk at the early onset thus preventing the need for expensive treatment or death at later stages.