The Swan-Ganz catheter is a balloon-tipped catheter placed in the pulmonary artery to obtain wedge pressure and left atrial pressure.

• A. Balloon catheter
• B. Thermodilution catheter
• C. CVP line
• D. Bronchoscopy

Answer: (A)

Measuring left-sided heart pressures by occluding a small branch of the pulmonary artery is the key idea. A Swan-Ganz catheter is a balloon-tipped pulmonary artery catheter. When the balloon is briefly inflated to wedge the catheter tip in a distal pulmonary artery, the pressure you read is the wedge pressure, which mirrors the left atrial pressure. This left atrial pressure reflects the left-sided filling pressures and helps assess fluid status and LV preload; the catheter can also be used with thermodilution to calculate cardiac output, but the wedge pressure portion specifically demonstrates the left-sided pressure.

That’s why a balloon-tipped catheter placed in the pulmonary artery to obtain wedge pressure (and thus left atrial pressure) is the best description. An ordinary CVP line wouldn’t provide wedge pressure, bronchoscopy is unrelated to pressure monitoring, and thermodilution refers to a measurement method rather than the balloon-tipped catheter’s primary role.