Dynamocardiography

(dynamometric cardiography), a method of investigating the mechanical manifestations of cardiac activity by recording shifts in the center of gravity of the rib cage, the result of cardiac kinematics and the movement of blood in the major vessels.

Dynamocardiography was developed in 1951 by E. B. Babskii and his coworkers. The dynamocardiograph consists of a strain gauge (which converts dynamic stress into electrical signals) mounted on a table top, on which the person being tested lies, and an amplification and recording apparatus. The dynamocardiograph records shifts in the center of gravity of the rib cage along and perpendicular to the body’s longitudinal axis. The longitudinal and transverse dynamocardiograms are complex curves consisting of a number of peaks (designated by Latin letters) and intervals (designated by roman numerals). The dynamocardiogram reveals characteristic changes of cardiac activity in certain diseases of the heart and, combined with the electrocardiogram, permits determination of the phases of the cardiac cycle.