Central venous pressure line is used to estimate which cardiac parameter?

Central venous pressure line is used to estimate which cardiac parameter?

• A. Right atrial pressure
• B. Pulmonary wedge pressure
• C. Left atrial pressure
• D. Systemic arterial pressure

Answer: (A)

A central venous pressure line measures pressure in the central venous system near the right atrium, so it reflects right atrial pressure and serves as an index of right heart preload and venous return. The tip sits close to the RA in the superior or inferior vena cava, making the reading a direct indicator of RA pressure. Pulmonary wedge pressure, by contrast, requires a pulmonary artery catheter with the balloon inflated to occlude a small branch of the pulmonary artery; the resulting wedge pressure estimates left atrial pressure, not right atrial pressure. Systemic arterial pressure is measured with an arterial line, not a central venous line. Left atrial pressure itself isn’t directly measured by a CVP line unless using the invasive wedge technique.

A central venous pressure line measures pressure in the central venous system near the right atrium, so it reflects right atrial pressure and serves as an index of right heart preload and venous return. The tip sits close to the RA in the superior or inferior vena cava, making the reading a direct indicator of RA pressure.

Pulmonary wedge pressure, by contrast, requires a pulmonary artery catheter with the balloon inflated to occlude a small branch of the pulmonary artery; the resulting wedge pressure estimates left atrial pressure, not right atrial pressure. Systemic arterial pressure is measured with an arterial line, not a central venous line. Left atrial pressure itself isn’t directly measured by a CVP line unless using the invasive wedge technique.