ABSTRACT
Central venous pressure (CVP) measurement is one of the most commonly used monitors in critically ill patients. The CVP is not a measure of blood volume but enables assessment of the ability of the right heart to accept and deliver blood. CVP is influenced by several factors: venous return, right heart compliance, intrathoracic pressure and patient position. Venous blood returning to the right atrium is delivered via the superior vena cava, the inferior vena cava and the coronary veins. Right ventricular compliance is the change in end-diastolic pressure with change in ventricular volume. In a healthy heart, volume administration does not cause a dramatic rise in end-diastolic pressure; the ventricle is compliant. Certain disease states cause the ventricle to be less compliant or stiff, e.g. pericardial effusion, cardiomyopathies or cardiac failure.
