The invention relates to methods, apparatus, articles-of-manufacture, and coded data signals for measuring cardiac output, limb blood flow, perfusion, blood pressure, artery elasticity, and cardiovascular deterioration and disease, including performing these measurements on a continuous heart beat-by-beat basis, for humans and animals. Unlike empirical methods of other noninvasive blood pressure concepts, the invention is grounded on scientifically appropriate hemodynamic principles that studies have validated as accurate, and is practical for wide clinical use. Devices constructed in accordance with the invention can be comfortably employed for numerous applications, including hospital monitoring, physician's office cardiovascular disease management and drug therapy monitoring, home monitoring, and athletic applications.The invention may be implemented in a variety of single or multi-sensor embodiments, such as: invasive pressure cannula sensor systems; non invasive pressure transducer arrays and piezo or other strain sensing materials that are placed against the skin above arteries; "upstream" pulsing-sensors (that apply single or multi-frequency vibrations that are measured "downstream" from the first placement location); other types of plethysmographic sensors; sonic/ultrasonic/Doppler sensors; MRI blood spin magnetizer/sensors; oxygen sensors; and electrocardiographic sensors, etc.