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What Is a Wiggers Diagram?

Matt Hubbard
Matt Hubbard

A Wiggers diagram is a medical chart that summarizes several aspects of cardiovascular health on one chart. Blood pressure, ventricular volume, arterial blood flow, and an electrocardiogram are simultaneously plotted against time on this chart. By combining the measurements in one place, the Wiggers diagram enables doctors to review the health of the entire cardiac cycle.

The Wiggers diagram is named for Carl J. Wiggers, a cardiologist who spent his career in research and teaching. In addition to being the director of Physiology at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio from 1917 to 1953, Dr. Wiggers held several leadership positions in the American Physiological Society, including president of the society in 1949 and 1950. He also authored several textbooks on circulatory physiology and the cardiovascular system.

An electrocardiogram is one of the tools employed to create a Wiggers diagram.
An electrocardiogram is one of the tools employed to create a Wiggers diagram.

The primary benefit of the Wiggers diagram is that it shows several aspects of the cardiac cycle together over time so that doctors can ensure the heart is beating properly. In a healthy heart, electrical impulses from the nervous system control the four chambers. The cycle begins when blood flows into both atria of the heart. When the atrioventricular valves open, blood flows from the atria into the ventricles, assisted by a slight contraction of the atria. Once both ventricles are full of blood, the atrioventricular valves close and the ventricles contract, forcing blood out through the semilunar valves to the pulmonary artery and aorta before the cycle repeats.

A Wiggers diagram helps doctors ensure the heart is beating properly.
A Wiggers diagram helps doctors ensure the heart is beating properly.

The phases of the cardiac cycle are easy to follow on a Wiggers diagram. The electrocardiogram shows the electrical impulses governing the cycle. The systolic and diastolic blood pressures, ventricular volume, and arterial flow measurements all show the movement of blood flow through the heart. Seeing all of these in one place, charted against time, allows doctors to see the relations between the stages of the cardiovascular cycle and diagnose conditions that may exist when components of the cardiac cycle are not working smoothly.

Wiggers diagram records are most commonly used in cardiac care units.
Wiggers diagram records are most commonly used in cardiac care units.

For example, one possible heart condition is atrial fibrillation, a rapid ongoing spasm in the muscles that contract the atria. Blood flow from the atria to the ventricles is primarily a passive result of pressures with atrial contractions providing a slight augment that increases during exertion. A patient suffering from atrial fibrillation could experience shortness of breath and impaired muscle performance as well as suffering from the increased possibilities of strokes. Hints of the atrial fibrillation would show up on the Wiggers diagram, however, in the form of changes in the electrocardiogram activity, a decrease in ventricular volume, and changes in diastolic blood pressure when the blood is moving through the atrioventricular valves. Medicine could then be prescribed to help minimize the risks associated with the condition.

Discussion Comments

Grivusangel

Will medical charting wonders never cease. This kind of diagramming makes perfect sense in a medical setting. When a patient comes in complaining of a particular symptom, sometimes it's like taking a car to a mechanic -- the symptom doesn't show up, or doesn't seem to mean anything by itself.

However, using a Wigger's diagram helps a doctor understand when the patient is experiencing this kind of symptom, something else may be happening at the same time, which the puts the symptom in context and enables the doctor to diagnose the patient more accurately. And of course, an accurate diagnosis means better treatment.

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    • An electrocardiogram is one of the tools employed to create a Wiggers diagram.
      By: Gennadiy Poznyakov
      An electrocardiogram is one of the tools employed to create a Wiggers diagram.
    • A Wiggers diagram helps doctors ensure the heart is beating properly.
      By: adimas
      A Wiggers diagram helps doctors ensure the heart is beating properly.
    • Wiggers diagram records are most commonly used in cardiac care units.
      By: Tom Wang
      Wiggers diagram records are most commonly used in cardiac care units.
    • A Wiggers diagram summarizes a range of cardiovascular aspects on one chart.
      By: blueringmedia
      A Wiggers diagram summarizes a range of cardiovascular aspects on one chart.
    • A Wiggers diagram will summarize blood pressure readings among other factors that affect cardiovascular health.
      By: Minerva Studio
      A Wiggers diagram will summarize blood pressure readings among other factors that affect cardiovascular health.
    • A Wiggers diagram can help doctors ensure that a patient's heart is beating properly.
      By: pathdoc
      A Wiggers diagram can help doctors ensure that a patient's heart is beating properly.