Uploaded byJonathan Downham
Cardiovascular examination
This document outlines the steps for performing a cardiovascular examination, including inspection, palpation of pulses, auscultation of heart sounds, and assessment for common cardiovascular problems. The exam involves checking general appearance, eyes, face, precordium, and ankles. Key pulses, jugular venous pressure, heart sounds, murmurs and extra sounds are auscultated systematically. Common presenting complaints like chest pain, breathlessness, palpitations, and syncope are discussed.
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Cardiovascular examination
- 1. Cardiovascular Examination Jonathan DownhamAdvanced Nurse Practitioner 2008 www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
- 2. Cardiovascular Examination • Cardiovascularsystem – Chest pain – Breathlessness – Ankle swelling – Fatigue www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
- 3. Cardiovascular Examination • Lighting •Lying and comfortable • Stripped to the waist • General inspection – General features – Eyes – Face – Praecordium – Ankles www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
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- 5. Cardiovascular Examination • Pulses •Carotid, radial, femoral, brachial, popliteal, posterior tibial, dorsalis pedis. – Presence and symmetry – Rate – Rhythm – Volume – Character www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
- 6. Cardiovascular Examination • Jugularvenous pressure (JVP) •JVP reflects central venous or right atrial pressure. •Normally 9cmH2O •Sternal angle approx 5cm above right atrium. •Normal JVP should be about 4cm above this angle when patient is at 45 degrees www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
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- 9. Cardiovascular Examination • Systematic –Time what you hear with the patients pulse. – First heart sound (precedes peripheral pulse) – Second heart sound (after pulse is felt) – Murmers during systole – The absence of silence during diastole – Any extra sounds. www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
- 10. Cardiovascular Examination • NormalHeart Sounds www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
- 11. Cardiovascular Examination • ThePrecordium This is the area on the front of the chest that relates to the surface anatomy of the heart. Inspect the precordium with the patient sitting at 45 degree angle with shoulders horizontal. www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
- 12. Cardiovascular Examination Locate theapex beat www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
- 13. Cardiovascular Examination • Heave –A palpable impulse that lifts your hand noticeably • Right ventricular hypertrophy • Thrills – Feel like a ringing phone or a fly trapped in ones hand • Aortic stenosis • Palpable first heart sounds – Mitral stenosis. www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
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- 15. Cardiovascular Examination • AbnormalHeart Sounds – Aortic Stenosis •Timing- ejection systolic murmur •Location- loudest over 2nd right intercostal space •Character- harsh, saw like. •Thrill- often present. www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
- 16. Cardiovascular Examination • Abnormalheart sounds – Aortic Regurgitation •Timing- early diastolic •Location- left or right 2-4th intercostal space •Character- quiet, blowing •Use diaphragm with patient leaning forward. www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
- 17. Cardiovascular Examination • Abnormalheart sounds – Mitral stenosis •Timing- mid diastolic. May be preceded by opening snap. •Location- apex •Character- low pitched rumbling •Listen for mitral stenosis with lightly applied bell and patient in left lateral position www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
- 18. Cardiovascular Examination • Abnormalheart sounds – Mitral regurgitation •Timing- pansystolic •Location- loudest at the apex www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
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- 20. Cardiovascular Examination www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk • Assessaorta for size and shape • Listen for bruits (whooshing sound) • Listen over renal arteries for the same. • Assess pulses: – Popliteal – Posterior tibial – Dorsalis pedis.
- 21. Cardiovascular Examination • CommonCardiovascular problems – Breathlessness • Common with some degree of heart failure • Orthopnoea – Dyspnoea when lying flat – Sign of advanced heart failure • Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea – Sudden breathless which wakes the patient from sleep choking or gasping for air. www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
- 22. Cardiovascular Examination • CommonCardiovascular problems – Palpitations • An unexpected awareness of the heart beating • Most patients do not have a sustained arrhythmia • Those that do often do not experience palpitations. • Ask about – Onset and termination – Precipitating factors – Frequency and duration of episodes – Character of the rhythm www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
- 23. Cardiovascular Examination • CommonCardiovascular problems – Syncope and dizziness • Postural hypotension • Neurocardiogenic syncope • Arrhythmias • Mechanical obstruction to cardiac output. www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
- 24. Cardiovascular Examination Chest Pain •Causes •Oesophagealspasm •Pneumothorax •Musculoskeletal •Angina •Myocardial Infarction •Pericarditic Pain •Aortic Pain www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
- 25. Cardiovascular Examination Chest Pain •SOCRATES •Site •Onset •Character •Radiation •Associatedsymptoms •Timing •Exacerbating or relieving factors •Severity www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
- 26. Cardiovascular Examination Chest Pain Watchingthe patient describing the character of the pain is helpful •A clenched fist on the chest is worrying •A single pointed finger is less worrying Take time to tease out the history •Chest pain causes anxiety in patients and this may cloud genuine/significant pathology •Do not increase anxiety by performing unnecessary investigations. If in doubt: MONA. www.criticalcarepractitioner.co.uk
Editor's Notes
- #3 Cardiovascular system Chest pain Characteristics of the pain Where exactly Does it radiate Nature of pain....burning, stabbing, crushing, gripping? Precipitating factors Time course and relieving factors Associated features....nausea, vomiting, sweating, SOB.... Breathlessness Lying flat (orthopnoea)...how many pillows do they use...LVF Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea......Do they ever wake at night fighting for breath....LVF On minimal exertion....how far can they walk...and what stops them....pain, breathlessness Ankle swelling...RVF Duration Degree Ascites Nausea and poor appetite due to bowel oedema Right upper quadrant discomfort due to hepatic congestion. Fatigue
- #4 Lighting Seated and comfortable Stripped to the waist General Inspection General features Age, sex, general health Obese or skinny Breathless Position in bed....do they seem to need to sit up? Eyes Jaundiced Xanthalasma...hyperlipidemia Face Cyanosis Teeth....poor dental hygiene? Praecordium Any obvious deformity Visible collateral veins Presence of scars. Ankles. Swelling/oedema.
- #5 Clubbing- Cardiovascular- infective endocarditis Respiratory- carcinoma of bronchus, fibrosing alveolitis Abdominal- crohns disease- unusual Splinter haemorrhages Infective endocarditis Oslers nodes and janeway lesions Infective endocarditis
- #6 Pulse Presence and symmetry Check both radial pulses together for asynchrony (aortic dissection, vasculitis) Rate Rhythm Irregularly irregular? Volume Bounding pulse CO2 retention/LVF Small volume shock. Pulsus paradoxus Detectable increase in pulse volume is felt during expiration (cardiac tamponade or severe asthma) Pulsus alternans Alternate pulses are felt as strong or weak due to presence of bigeminy Character Requires considerable practice to feel waveforms!!
- #7 Due to anatomy of innominate veins best seen on right hand side Elevated in fluid overload Heart Failure Pulmonary embolism Pericardial effusion SVC obstruction COPD
- #8 Position patient so that he is reclining comfortably until the waveform is clearly visible. Rest the patients head on a pillow to ensure that the neck muscles are relaxed Look across the neck from the right side of the patient. (due to anatomy of innominate veins) Identify the jugular vein pulsation Abdomino-jugular reflux- gently press over the abdomen for ten seconds. This increases venous return to the right side of the heart and the JVP normally rises Occlusion: the JVP waveform is obliterated by gently occluding the vein at the base of the neck with your fingers Can be raised in: Fluid overload- characteristically in heart failure Primarily a sign of right sided heart failure. Acute pulmonary embolism COPD
- #9 Systole starts at the point of closure of the mitral valve and tricuspid valve(FIRST HEART SOUND) as the pressure in the left ventricle exceeds that in the left atrium. Contraction occurs before the pressure in the left ventricle exceeds that in the aorta.... At which point the aortic valve opens and blood starts to flow into the aorta. Left ventricle relaxes.... Aortic pressure exceeds that in the left ventricle and the aortic valve closes (SECOND HEART SOUND) and pulmonary valves The ventricle continues to relax until the pressure falls below that in the filled left atrium.. The mitral valve opens to allow blood to flow into the left ventricle.
- #11 S1- ‘lub’ caused by closure of the mitral and tricuspid valves at the onset of ventricular systole and is best heard at the apex. S2- ‘dup’ caused by closure of the pulmonary and aortic valves at the end of ventricular systole and is best heard at the left sternal edge. Physiological splitting may occur at inspiration S3- ‘dum’ best heard with the bell. Normal in children, young adults and during pregnancy. Pathological after 40. common causes LVF and mitral regurg
- #13 Locate the apex beat Normally in the 5th left intercostal space, at or medial to the mid-clavicular line Normally briefly lifts the palpating fingers Palpate for thrills at the apex and both sides of the sternum Maybe absent in overweight or muscular people Maybe absent due to hyper-inflated chest as in asthma or emphysema. If you cannot feel it ask the patient to lay on his left side.
- #15 LISTEN TO ALL WITH DIAPHRAGM AND BELL. Aortic – second right intercostal space Pulmonary- Second left intercostal space Aortic regurgitation may be louder here Tricuspid- fourth left intercostal space Especially for tricuspid regurgitation Mitral regurgitation and aortic stenosis are often louder here Mitral- fifth intercostal space mid calvicular line Mitral stenosis with bell. To elicit mitral stenosis roll patient into left lateral and listen with bell. Ask patient to sit up and lean forward. Listen over 2nd intercostal space and over left sternal edge with diaphragm for the murmur of aortic regurgitation.
- #22 Breathlessness Common with some degree of heart failure Accumulation of fluid in the alveoli occurs with left heart failure because increased left atrial end diastolic pressure leads to elevated pressure in the pulmonary veins and capillaries. Orthopnoea Dyspnoea when lying flat Sign of advanced heart failure Lying flat increases venous return to the heart and in patients with a failing left ventricle may precipitate pulmonary venous congestion and pulmonary oedema Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea Sudden breathless which wakes the patient from sleep choking or gasping for air. Gradual accumulation of fluid during sleep Patients may sit on edge of bed and open windows to get some air.
- #23 Ask about Onset and termination- abrupt or gradual Precipitating factors- exercise, alcohol, exercise, recreational or other drugs Frequency and duration of episodes- Character of the rhythm- ask them to tap it out.
- #24 Syncope and dizziness Postural hypotension Commonly caused by hypovoleamia, antihypertensive drugs, especially diuretics and vasodilators Neurocardiogenic syncope Occurs in healthy people who have been forced to stand for a long time or subject to painful or emotional stimuli. Results from abnormal autonomic reflexes and bradycardia and/or vasodilatation Arrhythmias SVT’s rarely cause syncope Most common cause is bradyarrythmia due to sick sinus syndrome, or atrioventricular block Drugs including digoxin, beta blockers and rate limiting calcium channel blockers may aggravate attacks. Mechanical obstruction to cardiac output. Severe aortic stenosis and cardiomyopathy can obstruct left ventricular outflow.
- #25 Angina Precipitated by exertion Eased by rest and/or GTN Myocardial infarction More severe Persists at rest Pericarditic pain Sharp, raw or stabbing Varies with movement or breathing Aortic Severe tearing Sudden onset radiates to the back
- #26 Site Angina/Myocardial Infarction Felt in centre of chest, radiates out Oesophageal Retrosternal or epigastric. Can radiate out. Aortic Between shoulder blades and behind sternum Onset Sudden or gradual Character Crushing, gripping, like a band across my chest, dull ache Radiation Associated symptoms Nausea (very common in MI) Sweating SOB Syncope Timing Angina pain tends to be short lived MI pain lasts fro 20 mins or more Exacerbating or relieving factors Rest may relive angina Will not relieve MI Severity