The importance of wave reflection: A comparison of wave intensity analysis and separation of pressure into forward and backward components

Waves and wave reflections play an undoubted role in arterial hemodynamics. Wave intensity analysis and separation of pressure into forward and backward components can both be used to analyze wave phenomena in arteries, but result in different interpretations regarding the contribution of wave reflections to the aorta blood pressure waveform. We compare these approaches using pressure and flow measurements made in the human aorta and discuss why the interpretations might differ.