This document provides an overview of heart sounds and murmurs, including how to use a stethoscope to listen to the heart and identify normal and abnormal sounds. It describes the four main heart sounds (S1, S2, S3, S4), their timing in the cardiac cycle, and common causes of extra heart sounds or murmurs such as mitral regurgitation, aortic stenosis, and congestive heart failure. Listening locations are identified for different sounds and murmurs. Characteristics like timing, quality, and radiation are described to help differentiate normal versus pathological findings.

1. Heart Sounds & Murmurs

4. Listening Posts

5. Cardiac Cycle

6. Systolic vs. Diastolic systole S1 S2 diastole

7. Gallops systole S1 S2 S4 S3 diastole

14. Gallop Sounds Split S1 Split S2 S3 S4 Summation Gallop Gallops & Other Sounds Sound Answer Normal

17. Murmurs Made Easy systole S1 S2 diastole

35. Intensity of Murmurs Murmur Grades Grade Volume Thrill 1/6 very faint, only heard with optimal conditions no 2/6 loud enough to be obvious no 3/6 louder than grade 2 no 4/6 louder than grade 3 yes 5/6 heard with the stethoscope partially off the chest yes 6/6 heard with the stethoscope completely off the chest yes

38. Now you have a whole new meaning to the phrase “listen to your heart.”