Kussmaul's sign

Kussmaul's sign is the observation of a jugular venous pressure(JVP, the filling of the jugular vein) that rises with inspiration. It can be seen in some forms of heart disease.

Background

Ordinarily the JVP falls with inspiration due to reduced pressure in the expanding thoracic cavity. Kussmaul's sign suggests impaired filling of the right ventricledue to either fluid in the pericardial space or a poorly compliant myocardium or pericardium.

Causes

Possible causes of Kussmaul's sign include:

• Cardiac tamponade(rare)
• Constrictive pericarditis
• Restrictive cardiomyopathy
• Right ventricular infarction

History

Kussmaul's sign is named after the Germandoctor who first described it, Adolph Kussmaul(1822-1902) [1]. He is also credited with describing Kussmaul breathing.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kussmaul%27s+sign Wikipedia article Kussmaul's sign.