Which condition can cause jugular venous distention (JVD)?

Jugular venous distention (JVD) is a clinical sign that indicates increased central venous pressure, which can occur in several conditions. The most fitting choice in this context is pulmonary hypertension.

In pulmonary hypertension, there is increased pressure in the pulmonary arteries, which can lead to right-sided heart strain and failure. When the right ventricle struggles to pump effectively due to high pressures in the pulmonary circuit, blood can back up into the systemic venous circulation, leading to elevated jugular venous pressure and the manifestation of JVD.

This phenomenon occurs because the increased resistance in the pulmonary vasculature can cause the right ventricle to work harder and potentially fail, which directly increases pressure in the veins that return blood to the heart. Therefore, JVD is often visible as the blood volume backs up towards the jugular veins in such cases.

Other conditions may contribute to JVD as well. For instance, left-sided heart failure can also lead to JVD due to the backflow of blood towards the right side of the heart. Mitral stenosis causes increased pressure in the left atrium, which may secondarily cause pulmonary hypertension and can influence JVD indirectly. Aortic regurgitation typically does not cause JVD