Question

A patient presents to you with an irregularly irregular pulse of 120/minutes and a pulse deficit of 20. Which of the following would be the jugular venous pressure (JVP) finding?

• A. Absent p wave
• B. Absent a wave
• C. Cannon a wave
• D. Raised JVP with normal waveform

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

The patient described presents with an irregularly irregular pulse and a pulse deficit, which are classic indications of atrial fibrillation. In atrial fibrillation, the atria do not contract effectively, resulting in the absence of coordinated atrial activity. This disrupted contractile activity specifically affects the normal waveform of venous pulsations. The a wave in the jugular venous pulse corresponds to atrial contraction. Since atrial contraction is absent in atrial fibrillation, the a wave in the jugular venous pressure waveform is also absent.

Finding	Explanation
Absent a wave	Due to atrial fibrillation causing lack of atrial contractions

Thus, the correct option from the choices given is Absent a wave.