Cardiovascular Exam Flashcards
How would you explain and gain consent for a CV exam?
“I’ve been asked to do an examination of your heart today.
It will involve me having a look at your hands, face, neck and chest and having a listen to you heart.
You will have to be exposed from the waist up and the examiner will act as a chaperone today - IS THAT OK?”
- Are you in any pain at all?
What is the general layout of the CV exam?
1) WIPE
2) Gen inspection
3) Hands look
3. 5) Pulse (radial, radial delay, collapsing)
3. 75) Lying and standing BP
4) Face look
5) neck look
6) chest inspection
7) chest palpation
8) chest ausculation
9) lungs ausc, sacral / periph oedema
what do you look for on general inspection in a CV exam?
1) Bedside
- oxygen
- GTN
- medication
2) patient
- cyanosed?
- alert?
- SOB?
- body habitus?
- pain?
What do you look for on inspection of the hands in a CV exam?
1) temparature? clammy/sweaty?
2) cap refill <2s
3) Palms:
- janeway lesions
- osler’s nodes
- pale palmar creases
4) back of hand:
- tendon xanthoma
- nicotine staining
5) Nails
- clubbing
- splinter haemorrhages
What do you look for on a radial pulse ?
Radial pulse:
Rate - tachy, brady
Rhythm - regularly regular, irregular,
Character - weak or bounding
What are the cardiac causes of atrial fibrillation?
- heart failure
- MI / ischaemic heart disease
- Atrial dilation (secondary to mitral stonosis or regurg)
- Cardiac surgery
- hypertension
What are the non cardiac causes of atrial fibrillation?
- infection
- thyrotoxicosis (hyperthyroid)
- alcohol
- pulmonary embolism
What are the signs of infective endocarditis?
- Janeway lesions
- osler’s nodes
- splinter haemorrhages
- roth spots
What is radial radial delay a sign of?
- if left pulse is delayed compared to right then this is a sign of co-arctation of the aorta proximal to the L subclavian artery
what is a collapsing “water hammer” pulse a sign of?
aortic regurgitation
what pulse would indicate aortic stenosis?
slow rising pulse
What murmur would indicate aortic stenosis?
ejection systolic murmur that radiates to the carotids
when taking bood pressure what would indicate:
- aortic stenosis
- aortic regurg
- aortic stenosis has a slow rising pulse and narrow pulse pressure
- Aortic regurg has a collapsing pulse and a wide pulse pressure
What do you look for when inspecting the face in a CV exam?
1) Face :
general colour ?
malar flush of mitral stenosis?
2) Eyes:
- Xanthelasma
- corneal arcus
- conjuctival pallor
* *fundoscopy for roth spots
3) Lips:
- peripheral cyanosis
- angular stomatitis
4) Mouth:
- under tongue for central cyanosis
- mouth - high arched palate (marfans)
- dental hygiene
What do you look for in the neck during a CV exam?
2) Raised JVP (patient at 45 degrees - say you would in ilicit a hepatojugular reflux)
3) Carotid pulse and listen for bruit