Okay, so this is something weird I found out.
When I hold my breath immediately my right jugular swells up to large size at the base of my neck, right above my ribcage. My left jugular remains normal (= not/hardly visible)
I had my son, my partner and some others try it out too and all their jugulars remained normal size or both swelled lightly after prolonged holding.
So I posted this on the Dutch CCSVI forum and we had a little fun with it -and at least 4 other persons reported back having the same - all a direct and very clear swelling of the right jugular, while their 'controls'(anyone in their family etc) had none or only slightly after prolonged time at both sides.
One of our libertees tried it out too, she had light swelling in both after prolonged holding.
So I did some googling and I found this:
Quote:
What causes your jugular veins to distend when you hold your breath?
I know the jugular veins bring blood flow FROM the brain and the carotid arteries take the blood flow TO the brain, so why do your jugular veins distend when you hold your breath or play a wind instrument? is it just the pressure in your head or is it blood backing up in the veins until you take a breath? I am a horn player and noticed this when I was playing my horn in front of a mirror and just got curious about why this happens.
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
The medical term is called 'Valsalva' which is effectively performed by playing a horn.
This maneuver does two things:
1. Increases the muscle tone on your neck which makes the jugular vein more prominent.
2. A complicated set of events involving the heart, lungs, and vessels (as discussed below) essentially backs up the normal venous return, causing the jugular to fill with blood.
The normal physiological response consists of 4 phases:
A. Initial pressure rise: On application of expiratory force, pressure rises inside the chest forcing blood out of the pulmonary circulation into the left atrium. This causes a mild rise in blood pressure.
B. Reduced venous return and compensation: Return of systemic blood to the heart is impeded by the pressure inside the chest. The output of the heart is reduced and blood pressure falls. This occurs from 5 to about 14 seconds. The fall in blood pressure reflexively causes blood vessels to constrict with some rise in pressure (15 to 20 seconds). This compensation can be quite marked with pressure returning to near or even above normal, but the cardiac output and blood flow to the body remains low. During this time the pulse rate increases.
C. Pressure release: The pressure on the chest is released, allowing the pulmonary vessels and the aorta to re-expand causing a further initial slight fall in pressure (20 to 23 seconds) due to decreased left ventricular return and increased aortic volume, respectively. Venous blood can once more enter the chest and the heart, cardiac output begins to increase.
D. Return of cardiac output: Blood return to the heart is enhanced by the effect of entry of blood which had been dammed back, causing a rapid increase in cardiac output and of blood pressure (24 seconds on). The pressure usually rises above normal before returning to a normal level. With return of blood pressure, the pulse rate returns towards normal.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 913AA2q5kF
In the beginning of this clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xsgE7ueaek you can see exactly where your jugulars are situated.
So now I am wondering how many of you have this, too!
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Was it on your right side too? No one has this with a left jug yet!
