The Valsalva maneuver has several practical uses in medicine and in everyday life.
For instance, it is often used to cure hiccups and help scuba divers adjust to water pressure changes.
Cardiologists often recommend the Valsalva maneuver to patients who have episodes of certain kinds ofsupraventricular tachycardia (SVT).
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The technique can stop the arrhythmia when it occurs.
This maneuver immediately increases pressure in the sinuses and inner ears.
In simple terms, the elevated chest pressure stimulates thevagus nerveand increases vagal tone.
But the murmurs associated with bothmitral valve prolapseandhypertrophic cardiomyopathywill often increase during phase 2 of the Valsalva maneuver.
The Valsalva maneuver may help doctors to detect injury to the cervical spine.
There are also some non-medical uses of the Valsalva maneuver.
It may be that this is the most common and the most practical utility of the Valsalva maneuver.
It has practical applications in the practice of medicine and in daily life.
That’s because it can cause a sudden increase in blood pressure and strain the heart.
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