Editorial Type: FEATURES
 | 
Online Publication Date: 10 Sept 2025

Venous Valves: What’s the Hang-Up? A Deeper Dive

RN, BSN, VABC
Article Category: Research Article
Page Range: 35 – 37
DOI: 10.2309/JVAD-30-3-Deeper-Dive
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Highlights

  • Venous valves are common structures that can obstruct catheter placement.

  • Most people have valves in both subclavian veins near the venous confluence.1,2

  • Resistance often occurs at the junction of the subclavian and internal jugular veins.

  • Subclavian valves may deflect catheters, leading to malposition in the internal jugular.

  • Recognizing valves can improve practice, patient outcomes, and device design.

Copyright: Copyright © 2025 Association for Vascular Access. All rights reserved. 2025
Figure 1.
Figure 1.

(a) Venous valve closed (systole). (b) Venous valve open (diastole). Images courtesy of Dennis Woo.

Figure 2.
Figure 2.

Diagram of superior vena cava valve location.

Figure 3.
Figure 3.

(a) Ultrasound image of bicuspid venous valve. (b) Ultrasound image of subclavian vein valve in longitudinal view.

Figure 4.
Figure 4.

(a) Catheter deflecting off subclavian vein valve and looping back toward the insertion site. (b) Catheter deflecting superiorly through subclavian vein valve toward the internal jugular.

Contributor Notes

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to wdteipen@yahoo.com
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