Normal Jugular Venous Pressure
The jugular venous pulse can be used to measure right atrial pressure. Normal right atrial pressure is less than 8 cm H2O (via exam) or less than 6 mm Hg (via direct measurement). The ability to recognize normal right atrial pressure at the bedside is critical in a variety of clinical contexts.
Patient 1:
A healthy young woman volunteered to have her neck examined. She has a normal jugular venous pressure and waveform.
*It may be easier to appreciate this video by slowing it down to half speed (click the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the video)
Normal Jugular Venous Pressure
Annotated
Patient 2:
A healthy young woman volunteered to have her neck examined. She has a normal jugular venous pressure and waveform.
*It may be easier to appreciate this video by slowing it down to half speed (click the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the video)
Normal JVP
Annotated
Patient 3:
This young patient was admitted to the hospital for an unrelated condition. She was noted to have a normal jugular venous pressure and waveform.
*It may be easier to appreciate this video by slowing it down to half speed (click the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the video)
JVP with Q tip
Annotated
Patient 4:
This is a healthy team member who is demonstrating his own normal jugular venous pulse.
I just saw the low jugular venous pressure video but there is no leave a reply option there so i’m writing here anyways, how is low jugular venous pressure defined? At which point can we say this patient has a decreased JVP?
Great question TF. There is no specific threshold for low JVP like there is for elevated JVP (>8 cm H2O). Nothing has been validated as far as we know. It should all be considered in the context of the patient. We have seen patients whom we hypothesize to be intravascularly low (based on a history of poor PO intake, GI losses, etc.) and sure enough, their jugular venous waveform only crests above their clavicle when they are placed in Trendelenburg position. In that context, the “low” JVP represents another piece of supporting evidence that the patients is intravascularly deplete. Hope this helps.
Thank you once again sir!