Auscultation of Heart

Auscultation of the heart involves listening to the sounds produced by the heart during each heartbeat. Healthcare providers use a stethoscope to detect normal heart sounds, such as the lub-dub rhythm, as well as abnormal sounds like murmurs, clicks, or extra heartbeats. This examination helps diagnose heart conditions.

Normal Heart Sounds

S1 (First Heart Sound): “Lub” sound is caused by the closing of the mitral and tricuspid valves at the beginning of ventricular systole. As the ventricles contract, these valves shut to prevent blood from flowing back into the atria.

S2 (Second Heart Sound): “Dub” sound is caused by the closing of the aortic and pulmonary valves at the beginning of ventricular diastole. As the ventricles relax, these valves shut to prevent blood from flowing back into the ventricles from the aorta and pulmonary artery.

Abnormal Heart Sounds

Some of the abnormal heart sounds are:

• Murmurs: That is the hissing or whispering sound caused by the disturbed blood flow either in or around the heart. They can be classified based on when they occur in the heartbeat cycle:
  • Systolic Murmurs: Heard during the heart muscle contraction phase (systole).
  • Diastolic Murmurs: Heard between heartbeats, during the relaxation phase (diastole).
• Gallops: These are extra heart sounds that can sometimes be heard in addition to the regular S1 and S2 sounds. They can indicate specific heart conditions.
• Clicks and Snaps: These are short, high-pitched sounds that can sometimes be heard during a heartbeat. They can be a sign of a heart valve problem.
  • Ejection Click: This click may be associated with aortic or pulmonic valve stenosis (narrowing).
  • Opening Snap: This click can be a sign of a narrowed mitral valve.

The auscultation method is a medical technique that doctors and nurses perform to the internal body sounds of a patient using a stethoscope. This method is the main tool in the detection of various diseases, mainly related to the heart, lungs, and gastrointestinal system. In this article, we will cover auscultation in detail.