Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The apex beat may also be displaced by other conditions: Pleural or pulmonary diseases; Deformities of the chest wall or the thoracic vertebrae; Sometimes, the apex beat may not be palpable, either due to a thick chest wall, or conditions where the stroke volume is reduced; such as during ventricular tachycardia or shock.
The apex beat is assessed for size, amplitude, location, impulse and duration. There are specific terms to describe the sensation such as tapping, heaving and thrusting. Often the apex beat is felt diffusely over a large area, in this case the most inferior and lateral position it can be felt in should be described as well as the location of ...
In medicine, the pulse is the rhythmic throbbing of each artery in response to the cardiac cycle (heartbeat). [1] The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the neck (carotid artery), wrist (radial artery or ulnar artery), at the groin (femoral artery), behind the knee (popliteal artery), near the ankle joint ...
An S3 heart sound is best heard with the bell-side of the stethoscope (used for lower frequency sounds). A left-sided S3 is best heard in the left lateral decubitus position and at the apex of the heart, which is normally located in the 5th left intercostal space at the midclavicular line.
Murmurs have seven main characteristics. These include timing, shape, location, radiation, intensity, pitch and quality. [7] Timing refers to whether the murmur is a systolic, diastolic, or continuous murmur. Shape refers to the intensity over time. Murmurs can be crescendo, decrescendo or crescendo-decrescendo. Crescendo murmurs increase in ...
A forceful apex beat indicates left ventricular pressure overload, while a right ventricular heave suggests right ventricular pressure overload. Other signs provide evidence for specific causes of pressure overload. Hypertension is diagnosed by sphygmomanometry.
In a healthy heart all activities and rests during each individual cardiac cycle, or heartbeat, are initiated and orchestrated by signals of the heart's electrical conduction system, which is the "wiring" of the heart that carries electrical impulses throughout the body of cardiomyocytes, the specialized muscle cells of the heart.
The cardiovascular examination is a portion of the physical examination that involves evaluation of the cardiovascular system. The exact contents of the examination will vary depending on the presenting complaint but a complete examination will involve the heart (cardiac examination), lungs (pulmonary examination), belly (abdominal examination) and the blood vessels (peripheral vascular ...