Patent ID: 7527599

Claim:
A method for obtaining an indicator of left ventricular function of a person comprising: a) inserting into the esophagus of the person an esophageal catheter having at least one balloon; b) positioning the balloon adjacent to the left atrium; c) pressurizing the balloon; d) recording balloon pressure over a plurality of heart beats, wherein the recorded balloon pressure corresponds to left atrial pressure changes and the recorded pressure forms V waveforms each having a peak corresponding to opening of the mitral valve; e) identifying the time of occurrence of the peaks of the V waveforms; f) at the same time as performing step d), recording a plurality of aortic valve closure sounds, wherein each of the aortic valve closure sounds corresponds to a closure of the aortic valve; and g) measuring: i) the time between the occurrence of an aortic valve closure sound and the peak of the first V waveform subsequent to the aortic valve closure sound to obtain a left ventricular isovolumetric relaxation time (LVIVRT), wherein the LVIVRT is an indicator of left ventricular function; and/or ii) the average negative slope of the V waveform to obtain a V waveform negative slope value, wherein the V waveform negative slope value is an indicator of left ventricular function.