Figure 32-8 Interaction between damping coefficient (D) and natural frequency (f_n ) in pressure waveform recordings. A, An underdamped pressure waveform (f_n = 10 Hz, D = 0.1) displays small artifactual waves and systolic pressure overshoot. B, A small increase in D (0.2) diminishes these artifacts. C, Critical damping (D = 0.4) provides an accurate pressure waveform, even though f_n remains low. D, Overdamping results in loss of fine detail and precludes determination of f_n or D. E, Increased f_n (20 Hz) allows a low D (0.1) to have minimal impact on waveform morphology. Notice the similarities between waveforms C and E. (Redrawn from Mark JB: Atlas of Cardiovascular Monitoring. New York, Churchill Livingstone, 1998, Fig. 9-7.)