| Question | Answer |
| Angina pectoris | Acute chest pain that occurs when myocardial demand exceeds its oxygen supply |
| Aortic regurgitation | (Aortic insufficiency) incompetent aortic valve that allows backward flow of blood into left ventricle during diastole |
| Aortic stenosis | Calcification of aortic valve cups that restricts forward flow of blood during systole |
| Aortic valve | The left semilunar valve separating the left ventricle and the aorta |
| Apex of the heart | Tip of the heart pointing down toward the 5th left intercostal space |
| Apical impulse | (Point of maximal impulse, PMI) puslation created as the left ventricle rotates against the chest wall during systole, normally at the 5th left intercostal space in the midclavicular line |
| Base of the heart | Broader area of theheart's outline located at the 3rd right and left intercostal space |
| Bell (of the stethoscope) | Cup-shaped endpiece used for soft, low-pitched heart sounds |
| Bradycardia | Slow heart rate, <50 beats per minute in the adult |
| Clubbing | Bulbous enlargement of distal phalanges of fingers and toes that occurs with chronic cyanotic heart and lung conditions |
| Coarctation of aorta | Severe narrowing of the descending aorta, a congenital heart defect |
| Cor pulmonale | Right ventricular hypertrophy and heart failure due to pulmonary hypertension |
| Cyanosis | Dusky blue mottling of the skin and mucous membranes due to excessive amount of reduced hemoglobin in the blood |
| Diaphragm (of the stethoscope) | Flat endpiece of the stethoscope used for hearing relatively high-pitched heart sounds |
| Diastole | The heart's filling phase |
| Dyspnea | Difficult, labored breathing |
| Edema | Swelling of legs or dependent body part due to increased insterstitial fluid |
| Erb's Point | Traditional auscultatory area in the 3rd left intercostal space |
| First heart sound (S1) | Occurs with closure of the atrioventricular (AV) valves signaling the beginning of systole |
| Fourth heart sound (S4) | (S4 gallop; atrial gallop) very soft, low-pitched ventricular filling sound that occurs in late diastole |
| Gallop rhythm | The addition of a 3rd or a 4th heart sound makes the rhythm sound like the cadence of a galloping horse |
| Inching | Technique of moving the stethoscope incrementally across the precordium through the auscultatory areas while listening to the heart sounds |
| LVH (Left ventricular hypertrophy) | Increase in thickness of myocardial wall that occurs when the heart pumps against chronic outflow obstruction |
| MCL (midclavicular line) | Imaginary vertical line bisecting the middle of the clavicle in each hemithorax |
| Mitral regurgitation | (Mitral insufficiency) Incompetent mitral valve allows regurgiation of blood back into left atrium during systole |
| Mitral stenosis | Calcified mitral valve impedes forward flow of blood into left ventricle during diastole |
| Mitral Valve | Left AV valve spearating the left atria and ventricle |
| Palpitation | Uncomfortable awareness of rapid or irregular heart rate |
| Paradoxical Splitting | Opposite of a normal split S2 so that the split is heard in expiration, and in inspiration the sounds fuse to one sound |
| Pericardial Friction Rub | High-pitched, scratchy extracardiac sound heard when the precordium is inflamed |
| Physiologic Splitting | Normal variation in S2 heard as two separate components during inspiration |
| Precordium | Area of the chest wall overlying the heart and great vessels |
| Pulmonic regurgitation | (Pulmonic insufficiency) Backflow of blood through incompetent pulmonic valve into the right ventricle |
| Pulmonic Stenosis | Calcification of pulmonic valve that restricts forward flow of blood during systole |
| Pulmonic Valve | Right semilunar valve separating the right ventricle and pulmonary artery |
| Second Heart Sound (S2) | Occurs with closure of the semilunar valves, aortic and pulmonic, and signals the end of systole |
| Summation Gallop | Abnormal mid-diastolic heart sound heard when both the pathologic S3 and S4 are present |
| Syncope | Temporary loss of consciousness due to decreased cerebral blood flow (fainting), caused by ventricular asystole, pronounced bracycardia, or ventricular fibrillation |
| Systole | The heart's pumping phase |
| Tachycardia | Rapid heart rate, >90 beats per minute in the adult |
| Third Heart Sound (S3) | Soft, low-pitched ventricular filling sound that occurs in early diastole (S3 gallop) and may be an early sign of heart failure |
| Thrill | Palpable vibration on the chest wall accompanying severe heart murmur |
| Tricuspid Valve | Right AV valve separating the right atria and ventricle |
