CCNS Certified Clinical Nurse Specialist

Answer - D - Central venous pressure directly assesses right heart preload and right ventricle function. The central venous pressure measurement also can be used to assess and manage intravascular volume status because pressure in the great thoracic veins generally correlates with the volume of venous return. The amount of blood that returns to the heart is normally ejected by the heart. Therefore, in patients with hypovolemia, a decreased CVP measurement is associated with a decreased cardiac output, whereas patients with volume overload typically have increased CVP and cardiac output.