Jugular venous pulse in constrictive pericarditis

The normal jugular venous pulse waveform is represented in blue. In comparison, the jugular venous pulse waveform in a patient with CP is shown in red. Note the sharp, prominent y descent in CP, which represents rapid passive filling during early diastole that abruptly stops when the ventricular volume reaches the maximal capacity allowed by the stiff, thickened pericardium.