Hypotension and diagnostic utility of pulse pressure

Caution in interpretation of pulse pressure values is warranted if technical factors that may introduce error are suspected. For example, the waveform is affected by the damping coefficient (a measure of how quickly an oscillating system comes to rest). A system with a high damping coefficient (eg, compliant tubing) absorbs mechanical energy to cause a diminution in the transmitted waveform mimicking a small pulse pressure. With under-damping, the waveform may appear to have a large pulse pressure.