A Wiggers diagram, named after its developer, Carl Wiggers, is a unique diagram that has been used in teaching

cardiac physiology Cardiac physiology or heart function is the study of healthy, unimpaired function of the heart: involving blood flow; myocardium structure; the electrical conduction system of the heart; the cardiac cycle and cardiac output and how these interact a ...

for more than a century. In the Wiggers diagram, the X-axis is used to plot time subdivided into the cardiac phases, while the Y-axis typically contains the following on a single grid: *

Blood pressure Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure of circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. Most of this pressure results from the heart pumping blood through the circulatory system. When used without qualification, the term "blood pressur ...

Aortic The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes ox ...

pressure ** Ventricular pressure ** Atrial pressure * Ventricular volume * Electrocardiogram * Arterial flow (optional) * Heart sounds (optional) The Wiggers diagram clearly illustrates the coordinated variation of these values as the heart beats, assisting one in understanding the entire cardiac cycle.

Events

Note that during isovolumetric/isovolumic contraction and relaxation, all the heart valves are closed; at no time are all the heart valves open. *S3 and S4 heart sounds are associated with pathologies and are not routinely heard.

Additional images

File:Heart systole.svg, Ventricular systole File:Heart diasystole.svg, Cardiac diastole File:ECG Principle fast.gif, ECG File:SinusRhythmLabels.svg, The EKG complex. P=P wave, PR=PR interval, QRS=QRS complex, QT=QT interval, ST=ST segment, T=T wave File:Wiggers diagram with jugular venous waveform.png, Wiggers with jugular venous waveform

References

Blood pressure Cardiovascular physiology {{cardiovascular-stub

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Additional images

See also

References