Determinants of Systemic Venous Return and the Impact of Positive Pressure Ventilation
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350 Review Article on Cardiopulmonary Interactions Page 1 of 10 Determinants of systemic venous return and the impact of positive pressure ventilation David Berger, Jukka Takala Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland Contributions: (I) Conception and design All authors; (II) Administrative support: None; (III) Provision of study materials or patients: None; (IV) Collection and assembly of data: None; (V) Data analysis and interpretation: None; (VI) Manuscript writing: All authors; (VII) Final approval of manuscript: All authors. Correspondence to: David Berger, MD. Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland. Email: [email protected]. Abstract: Venous return, i.e., the blood flowing back to the heart, is driven by the pressure difference between mean systemic filling pressure and right atrial pressure (RAP). Besides cardiac function, it is the major determinant of cardiac output. Mean systemic filling pressure is a function of the vascular volume. The concept of venous return has a central role for heart lung interactions and the explanation of shock states. Mechanical ventilation during anaesthesia and critical illness may severely affect venous return by different mechanisms. In the first part of the following article, we will discuss the development of the concept of venous return, its specific components mean systemic and mean circulatory filling pressure (MCFP), RAP and resistance to venous return (RVR). We show how these pressures relate to the volume state of the circulation. Various interpretations and critiques are elucidated. In the second part, we focus on the impact of positive pressure ventilation on venous return and its components, including latest results from latest research. Keywords: Venous return; mean systemic filling pressure; stressed volume; right atrial pressure (RAP) Submitted Mar 16, 2018. Accepted for publication Apr 14, 2018. doi: 10.21037/atm.2018.05.27 View this article at: http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/atm.2018.05.27 What is venous return and what are its The heart acts permissively to promote this venous determinants? return (2); The Starling mechanism, i.e., the dependency of When Patterson and Starling described what became later stroke volume on ventricular pressure, is not the known as the Starling mechanism of the heart, their first primary determinant of cardiac output, but an conclusion reads: “The output of the heart is equal to and adaptive mechanism to accommodate for short-term determined by the amount of blood flowing into the heart, and changes in venous inflow (2,4). may be increased or diminished within very wide limits according It took more than half a century after the description of to the inflow” (1). the Starling mechanism, until Arthur Guyton experimentally This simple yet very logical statement has several characterized venous return and its respective components consequences: (5-7). In order to understand the conceptual framework for Cardiac output is governed and thus primarily venous return, it is important to divide the circulation into limited by venous inflow (1); two subsystems, the heart as the pump and the vasculature The venous circulation, as main reservoir of blood, as the circuit. The invention of extracorporeal pumps gains an active role in regulation of cardiac output, allowed Guyton to control the heart function via the speed rather than being a passive return conduit (2,3); of a mechanical pump and separate pump effects from © Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved. atm.amegroups.com Ann Transl Med 2018;6(18):350 Page 2 of 10 Berger and Takala. Venous return during mechanical ventilation VR = CO for example by increasing heart rate at stable venous return. This was proven several years after the initial derivation of the venous return concept (11,12). Cardiac output can only be elevated when the VRdP is increased, by either increases in upstream or decreases in downstream pressure (which would be the result of increased cardiac function), or by decreasing RVR (3). Despite relevant criticism on Guyton’s concept (13-15), its functional consequences have been reproduced in various RAP MSFP animal (16-20) and clinical experiments (21-26), with and without mechanical circulatory assist. This concept provides a Figure 1 Stepwise increases in RAP lead to declining venous useful framework that integrates blood volume, central venous return and cardiac output. At standstill, MSFP can be measured. pressure or RAP and cardiac output and delineates circulatory The Starling curve (cardiac function) and the venous return curve factors from cardiac limits in states of shock (27-29). (vascular function) cross each other in equilibrium. The RAP in We will describe the components of venous return, i.e., this equilibrium point reflects the backpressure to venous return mean circulatory and systemic filling pressure (MCFP for the VR curve and the preload pressure for the Starling curve. and MSFP), RAP and VRdP, the RVR and link these The arrow indicates VRdP. VR, venous return; CO, cardiac output; components to the blood volume within the circulation. RAP, right atrial pressure; MSFP, mean systemic filling pressure; Special emphasis will lay on the influences of changing VRdP, venous return driving pressure. intrathoracic pressures due to mechanical ventilation and the applicability of the concept in dynamic situations, as these form the basis around functional hemodynamic monitoring the vascular tree as the circuit. By systematic and stepwise and heart lung interactions (30-32). The controversies elevation of right atrial pressure (RAP), he showed an around the concept and varying interpretations will be inverse relationship of venous return to RAP (Figure 1) discussed at each individual component (33,34). (6-8). He achieved maximum venous return with zero RAP. Further increases in flow via increases in pump function were limited by collapse of the intrathoracic vessels (9). What are the components of venous return and When he increased RAP above zero (i.e., above atmospheric how do they relate to blood volume? pressure), pump flow and therefore venous return would The blood volume in a steady state is relatively constant decline until flow ceased completely. He termed the and due to the much larger venous than arterial compliance, pressure at zero flow mean circulatory filling pressure up to 70% of the volume resides in the venous system (35). (MCFP) (6,7). By influencing MCFP via volume expansion Blood flow will only redistribute a small amount of around or epinephrine, he could increase venous return without 10% from the venous to the arterial system. Only part of changes in pump function (7,8,10). From this, Guyton this volume creates tension on the vascular walls, evoking reasoned that in the steady state circulation, venous return the elastic recoil pressure. This “distending volume” is (and therefore cardiac output in conclusion) was driven by called stressed volume (35-37). Stressed volume is surprisingly the venous return driving pressure (VRdP = MCFP minus small, around 25% of the total blood volume. The larger RAP) divided by the resistance to venous return (RVR): part of total blood volume just fills the vascular structures CO = VR = (MCFP – RAP)/RVR [1] without creating any tension. This unstressed volume does This simple ohmic representation of the circulation not contribute to flow, but serves as a volume reserve for allows that the heart acts permissively by pumping forward the body. Unstressed volume may be recruited into stressed what it was offered by the venous system. As it can only volume via changes in the capacitance of the vessel beds, a promote what flows into the heart, cardiac output is protective mechanism for cardiac output in hypovolemia. completely dependent on venous return in physiological Blood pressure at zero blood flow was examined long (or non-heart failure) conditions. It could therefore not be before Guyton. Weber described “statischer Füllungsdruck” possible to increase cardiac output (= stroke volume times (static filling pressure) in 1851 (38). Guyton’s observation heart rate) without simultaneous increases in venous return, of ceasing blood flow when RAP exceeded a certain value © Annals of Translational Medicine. All rights reserved. atm.amegroups.com Ann Transl Med 2018;6(18):350 Annals of Translational Medicine, Vol 6, No 18 September 2018 Page 3 of 10 18 in the literature (38) and the exclusion of the pulmonary Volume reduction 16 Starting volume vasculature is a source of criticism for the concept of Volume expansion 14 venous return (34). A distinction of MCFP and MSFP may clinically not be important because they are very similar in 12 value and difficult to estimate or differentiate exactly. Still, 10 when discussing the effects of intrathoracic pressures, lung 8 inflation may shift part of the pulmonary and cardiac blood MSFP (mmHg) 6 volume towards the systemic circulation, thereby increasing 4 MSFP while keeping MCFP constant (43,44). With regards 2 Stressed to the systemic circulation and its role for various disease Unstressed volume, Vu volume, Vs 0 states in critical care, we rely on the description of MSFP 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 and formula 1 can be rewritten Blood volume (mL) CO=VR = (MSFP – RAP)/RVR [2] Figure 2 Changing volume will change mean systemic filling The upstream pressure MSFP may be interpreted in pressure. Extrapolation of volume/pressure