Blood Volume and Hemodynamic Analysis in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure

"Patients will drink a solution 30 minutes prior to the test. They will need to lie still on a flat surface for 15 minutes. During the blood volume analysis portion of the test, a small amount of a radioactive isotope or tracer is injected.Blood samples are taken at 6 time points during the test. The blood volume test is used to measure the amount of blood in the patients body.~A hematocrit measurement is done on the blood samples taken. This blood test calculates the percentage of red blood cells in the bloodstream."

venous plethysmography is a non-invasive test to measure how well your veins and arteries in your forearm and calf work. Cuffs similar to blood pressure cuffs are placed on the upper and lower arm and the thigh and calf. Measurements are taken