Exam by body system

How to measure jugular venous pressure

Other platforms explain it with text and video. In VMS you practice it on the patient.

MD / DOPA
Practice it in VR with Blocky

The JVP shows the pressure in the right side of the heart. It rises in heart failure.

Step by step

  1. Position

    Lying at 45 degrees, head turned slightly left, good side light. [1]

  2. Find the pulsation

    Between the two heads of the sternocleidomastoid; double wave, not palpable, changes with breathing. [1]

  3. Find the top

    Highest point of the pulsation. [1]

  4. Measure

    Vertical distance from the sternal angle; above about 3 to 4 cm is raised. [1]

  5. Abdominal pressure

    Press the belly for 10 seconds: a sustained rise supports heart failure. [1]

  6. Record

    Height in cm and angle. [1]

Common errors

Practice it in VMS

In VMS you do this on the patient, not on paper: every step goes on the checklist with a score, and in Teach mode Blocky tells you what comes next.

VMS cases that train this skill

9 VMS cases train this skill: open the case library

Sources

  1. Stanford Medicine 25 (bedside exam)
  2. NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint
  3. Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College) (CC BY 4.0)

Steps adapted from Open RN, Nursing Skills 2e (Chippewa Valley Technical College), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts and steps also follow NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint; Stanford Medicine 25 (bedside exam). VMS is not affiliated with these organizations. Updated: 2026-10-11.