“A heart murmur is an extra or unusual sound heard during a heartbeat. Murmurs range from very faint to very loud. Sometimes they sound like a whooshing or swishing noise.” (National Institute of Health). Heart murmurs originate from the heart, causing an abnormal beating of the heart. They can be heard by the individual, making turbulent and rushing sounds. “A thrill by definition is a palpable murmur, so the term “palpable thrill” is redundant. A thrill should be identified as present or absent but not as palpable or impalpable.” (Perloff). Palpable means to feel, so the term palpable murmur means to place your hand on the chest to identify the presence of the murmur.
“Murmurs are apparent when blood flow becomes turbulent. The main causes …show more content…
When a thrill is prominent and widespread, application of the entire palm of the hand is helpful in sensing the direction of radiation. An aortic stenotic thrill radiates upward and to the right, and a pulmonary stenotic thrill radiates upward and to the left. If a thrill is localized, relatively firm application of a fingertip usually suffices for detection.” (Perloff). The distal metacarpals, which are located on the dorsal side of the hand, is the most useful location for detecting heart thrills, and the pulse is easily palpable, since there are many blood vessels located in the hand. Applying the fingertips to detect the thrill is helpful, and it could also find the type of thrill, depending on the location.
There are many other ways for doctors to diagnose murmurs. “Doctors use a stethoscope to listen to heart sounds and hear heart murmurs. They may detect heart murmurs during routine checkups or while checking for another condition. If a congenital heart defect causes a murmur, it’s often heard at birth or during infancy. Abnormal heart murmurs caused by other heart problems can be heard in patients of any age.” (National Institute of Health). No matter what checkup the patient is having, doctors always detect for heart murmurs or any other abnormal beating of the
“Murmurs are apparent when blood flow becomes turbulent. The main causes …show more content…
When a thrill is prominent and widespread, application of the entire palm of the hand is helpful in sensing the direction of radiation. An aortic stenotic thrill radiates upward and to the right, and a pulmonary stenotic thrill radiates upward and to the left. If a thrill is localized, relatively firm application of a fingertip usually suffices for detection.” (Perloff). The distal metacarpals, which are located on the dorsal side of the hand, is the most useful location for detecting heart thrills, and the pulse is easily palpable, since there are many blood vessels located in the hand. Applying the fingertips to detect the thrill is helpful, and it could also find the type of thrill, depending on the location.
There are many other ways for doctors to diagnose murmurs. “Doctors use a stethoscope to listen to heart sounds and hear heart murmurs. They may detect heart murmurs during routine checkups or while checking for another condition. If a congenital heart defect causes a murmur, it’s often heard at birth or during infancy. Abnormal heart murmurs caused by other heart problems can be heard in patients of any age.” (National Institute of Health). No matter what checkup the patient is having, doctors always detect for heart murmurs or any other abnormal beating of the