Kussmaul sign is a clinical sign, seen as a paradoxical increase in the jugular venous pressure in response to inspiration. This is opposed to the normal physiological response of inspiration resulting in decreased jugular venous pressure 1.
Pathology
Etiology
This sign typically arises secondary to impaired right ventricular function or filling 2. There are several pathologies in which the sign may be observed:
- constrictive pericarditis
- myocardial infarction of the right ventricle
- right-sided heart failure
- tricuspid stenosis 2
History and etymology
The sign is named after Adolf Kussmaul (1822-1902), a German physician who first described it in 1873 1.
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