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The apex beat (lat. ictus cordis), also called the apical impulse, [1] is the pulse felt at the point of maximum impulse (PMI), which is the point on the precordium farthest outwards (laterally) and downwards (inferiorly) from the sternum at which the cardiac impulse can be felt.
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 ...
S 3 is thought to be caused by the undulation of blood back and forth between the walls of the ventricles initiated by the inflow of blood from the atria. The reason the third heart sound does not occur until the middle third of diastole is probably that, during the early part of diastole, the ventricles are not filled sufficiently to create enough tension for reverberation.
A medical provider (e.g. doctor) may order tests for further evaluation of a heart murmur. The echocardiogram is a common test used. This is also known as an "echo" or ultrasound of the heart. [1] It shows the heart structures and blood flow through the heart.
Cardiac physiology or heart function is the study of healthy, unimpaired function of the heart: involving blood flow; myocardium structure; the electrical conduction system of the heart; the cardiac cycle and cardiac output and how these interact and depend on one another.
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.
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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 ...