Page 77 - Clinical Pearls in Cardiology

Jugular Venous Pulse 65

Table 2: Differentiation between jugular venous pulsation
and carotid pulsation
Carotid pulsation Jugular venous pulsation
• Rapid outward movement • Rapid inward movement
• One peak per heartbeat • Two peaks per heartbeat
• Palpable • Impalpable
• Pulsation unaffected by • Pulsation diminished by
pressure at the root of the pressure at the root of the
neck neck
• Independent of respiration • Height of pulsation varies
with respiration
• Independent of position of • Varies with position of the
the patient patient
• Independent of abdominal • Rises with abdominal
pressure pressure

7. What is meant by Beck’s triad?
Beck’s triad is a triad of clinical signs seen in patients with
cardiac tamponade. It includes the following:

Beck’s Triad
Raised JVP
Low blood pressure
Distant, muffled heart sounds or absent heart sounds

It is the speed of accumulation of fluid within the
pericardial cavity that determines the hemodynamic
consequences. Large effusions (more than 1000 mL) that
develop slowly may produce no hemodynamic effect. But
smaller effusions that appear rapidly can result in cardiac
tamponade. The most common causes of tamponade
are neoplastic infiltration, uremic pericarditis, acute-