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SummaryBackground: Dyspnea is a common symptom and can be caused by many different conditions. The detection of congestive heart failure (CHF) is sometimes difficult.Hypothesis: The pulse amplitude ratio (PAR) measured by the Finapress procedure during a Valsalva maneuver can detect elevated left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) accurately over a wide range of values.Methods: Comparison of the estimated LVEDP by PAR with the invasively measured LVEDP before and after ventriculography during coronography was made in 101 consecutive stable patients referred for chest pain and/or chronic dyspnea.Results: A significant correlation was found between the catheter-measured LVEDP (range 3-40 mmHg) and the PAR (R 2 = 0.70, p < 0.001). The receiver operator characteristics (ROC) of the PAR to detect an LVEDP > 15 mmHg can be considered to be excellent, with an area under the ROC curve Conclusions: The observed likelihood ratios confirm that the PAR determined by the Finapress procedure may be a useful bedside diagnostic tool in patients with cardiac conditions.

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