Total Red Cell Volume, Plasma Volume, and Sodium Space in Congestive Heart Failure 1

Blood Volume in Congestive Heart Failure1

“…It is apparent from our results and from those of other investigators (8,9) that some patients in advanced heart failure have a normal blood volume and that some patients may proceed to full compensation with no change in blood volume. The results of this study have been reviewed in a search for any factors in congestive heart failure which may be distinctive to the patients who have an increase in blood volume and to those who show a significant decrease with compensation.…”

“…The problem has engaged the attention of many investigators: some have found blood volume to be increased in congestive heart failure (3-7); others have found it to be normal (8,9). This report is made to record the authors' observations in a study of 102 patients in heart failure.…”

The Effect of Congestive Heart Failure on Blood Volume as Determined by Radiochromium-Tagged Red Cells

“…Comparison of 27 observations on "decompensated" patients with the normal group reveals that there was a 22 per cent increase in blood volume, a 25 per cent increase in red cell mass, and a 17 per cent increase in plasma volume. In every subject the red cell mass was greater than the mean for the normal group; in 12 instances the values exceeded the normal range. On the other hand, only seven measurements of plasma volume exceeded the normal range and five were less than the normal mean.…”

Precision of red cell volume measurement using 32P‐labelled cells

“…The theoretical advantages of basing blood volume estimations on measurement of red cell volume alone have been discussed by Prentice, Berlin, Hyde, Parsons, Lawrence & Port (1951). The techniques employing radio-actively tagged red cells are at present somewhat more elaborate and time consuming than the dye method for plasma volume measurement.…”