WHY YOUR DOCTOR KEEPS A STETHOSCOPE ON YOUR CHEST?
What is Stethoscope used for?
The stethoscope has been around for almost 200 years, and every doctor still wears one around their neck. No other medical tool has a longer life or serves a more important purpose. But you might wonder what doctors are really listening for when they put that it against your chest. They listen to your heart sounds. Yes! You heard that right.1
What is a heart made up of?
The heart is mostly hollow and made up of muscles and tissue.2 There are two atria (upper chambers) and two ventricles (lower chambers).2 There are valves between each of these chambers. Heart valves are parts of your heart that work like doors. They open and close to let blood move from one part of your heart to another.3
The right atrium is separated from the right ventricle by the tricuspid valve. The left atrium and left ventricle are separated by the bicuspid valve.2 Apart from these two there are also the pulmonary valve that takes the deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs to receive oxygen and the aortic valve that takes the oxygenated blood from the heart to rest of the body. The valves make sure that the blood moves at the right time and in the right direction. As the valves open and close, they create two sounds, which are your heartbeat.3
Why does the doctor listen to your heart sounds?
Doctor will use a stethoscope to hear heart sounds on patients complaining of chest pain, dizziness, fainting, fatigue (feeling very tired), a feeling of fluttering or racing in the chest, shortness of breath, especially when exercising or lying down, or swelling in ankles, feet, legs, or belly. The sound of your heartbeat is made by the valves opening and closing in your heart. An unusual sound occurs when there is a first sign that something is wrong with a heart valve.3
The most important thing to look for is a normal heart sound. If the heartbeat is regular and there are no murmurs, that's a pretty good sign that the heart is healthy. But if there is something wrong with a valve, the doctor will hear a different sound than the normal "lub-dub" of the heartbeat.1
What do different sounds signify?
Irregular rhythm: The doctor could hear an extra beat, a beat that was skipped, or a rhythm that was all over the place.1
Heart "Murmurs": A doctor can hear heart "murmurs" as soft swishing or hissing sounds that come after the normal sounds of the heart beating. Murmurs may mean that blood is leaking through a valve that isn't closed all the way or that there is a serious problem with the heart.4
Signs of congestive heart failure: Listening to the heart and lungs for abnormal heart function and fluid in the lungs can help find these sounds.4
No matter what doctors hear through a stethoscope, it's not enough to make a diagnosis. But these tests usually lead to more tests to find out what's causing an abnormal or irregular heartbeat.1
(Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only. Please consult a qualified doctor before taking any decisions regarding recommendations in the article or for more information.)
References: 1. What Does Your Doctor Listen for With a Stethoscope? [Internet]. Available at: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-your-doc-listens-for-in-the-stet.... Accessed on Sep 2, 2022. 2. Heart [Internet]. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/heart#1. Accessed on Sep 2, 2022. 3. Heart Valves [Internet]. Available at: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/17067-heart-valves. Accessed on Sep 2, 2022. 4. Heart anatomy [Internet]. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/science/heart#ref174626, Accessed on Sep 2, 2022.
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