What it means
A measure of how full the right side of the heart is, used as one clue to a client's fluid status. It is read from a central venous catheter attached to a pressure transducer. A low reading can go with too little fluid in the blood vessels; a high reading can go with fluid overload or a right heart that is not pumping well. Values are read as a trend, together with other findings.
For the nurse
Level the transducer at the phlebostatic axis (fourth intercostal space, mid-axillary line) with the client flat or at the same angle each time, and read at the end of breathing out.
At a glance
| Also written | CVP |
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Related terms
vena cava
One of the two large veins that return oxygen-poor blood from the body to the right atrium of the heart.
preload
How much the heart's ventricles are stretched by the blood filling them just before they squeeze.
fluid overload
Too much fluid in the body, in the blood vessels and the tissues.
jugular vein distention
Neck veins that stay full and bulging when the client sits with the head raised at 30 to 45 degrees.