Continuous, invasive hemodynamic monitoring of patients in respiratory failure is an important aspect of total respiratory care. Understanding both the technical and physiological principles underlying hemodynamic monitoring is therefore important for respiratory care practitioners. This review is designed to meet this need by (1) addressing the technical aspects of hemodynamic monitoring (catheters, transducers, and monitors), (2) discussing the determinants of commonly measured hemodynamic variables (intravascular pressures and cardiac output), and (3) offering an orderly approach to hemodynamic data that allows for rapid determination of the patient's physiologic state and appropriate diagnostic possibilities. These principles are illustrated by five examples.