{"id":4720,"date":"2025-08-24T18:51:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T22:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=4720"},"modified":"2026-01-26T00:53:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T05:53:36","slug":"heart-sounds-and-pulse-dynamics","status":"web-only","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/chapter\/heart-sounds-and-pulse-dynamics\/","title":{"raw":"7p2 Heart Sounds and Pulse Dynamics","rendered":"7p2 Heart Sounds and Pulse Dynamics"},"content":{"raw":"<h1><strong>Heart Sounds (Lub-Dub):<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The normal\u00a0<strong>heart sounds<\/strong>\u00a0are described as \"lub\" and \"dub.\"<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Lub:<\/strong>\u00a0Occurs during closure of the\u00a0<strong>atrioventricular (AV) valves<\/strong>\u00a0(mitral and tricuspid).<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Dub:<\/strong>\u00a0Occurs during closure of the\u00a0<strong>semilunar valves<\/strong>\u00a0(aortic and pulmonary).<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Origin of the sounds:<\/strong>\u00a0Not from the valves themselves, which are silent, but from the\u00a0<strong>turbulence of blood flow<\/strong>\u00a0as valves close.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h1><strong>Additional Heart Sounds:<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Sometimes hearing a\u00a0<strong>third<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0<strong>fourth<\/strong>\u00a0heart sound is normal, but more often they indicate abnormal blood flow.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Murmurs:<\/strong>\u00a0Abnormal or extra sounds caused by:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Incompetent valves:<\/strong>\u00a0Valves that do not close properly, causing\u00a0<strong>regurgitation<\/strong>, which produces a swooshing sound.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Septal defects:<\/strong>\u00a0Holes in the septum (especially between ventricles) allow blood flow abnormally, creating additional sounds.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h1><strong>Pulse and Pulse Deficit<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n<strong>Pulse:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Usually reflects the heart rate and strength of cardiac contractions.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Click on the following images if you'd like to learn more about different pulse sites:<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n[h5p id=\"115\"]\r\n\r\n<strong>Pulse Deficit:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>An\u00a0<strong>abnormal condition<\/strong>\u00a0where there's a difference between the\u00a0<strong>apical pulse<\/strong>\u00a0(listening with a stethoscope over the heart) and the\u00a0<strong>radial pulse<\/strong>\u00a0(felt at the wrist).<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Common scenario:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Apical pulse:<\/strong>\u00a060 beats per minute.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Radial pulse:<\/strong>\u00a040 beats per minute.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Implication:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>The heart is beating, but the\u00a0<strong>pressure wave<\/strong>\u00a0is not reaching the periphery properly or strongly enough to be felt at the wrist.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Indicates issues like\u00a0<strong>low stroke volume<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0<strong>weak cardiac contractions<\/strong>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<strong>Causes of Pulse Deficit:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Poor filling of the heart:<\/strong>\u00a0Decreased preload or volume leading to less effective ejection.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Weak contraction:<\/strong>\u00a0Heart muscle weakness impairing ejection volume (stroke volume).<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<strong>Why this is important:<\/strong>\r\n\r\nIt signals a cardiac problem, such as\u00a0<strong>heart failure<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0<strong>arrhythmias<\/strong>\u00a0affecting blood flow efficiency.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h1><strong>Summary:<\/strong><\/h1>\r\nUnderstanding heart sounds and pulse dynamics provides critical information on cardiac function. Normal heartbeats produce recognizable \"lub-dub\" sounds due to blood turbulence at valve closures. Abnormal sounds like murmurs can suggest valvular or septal defects. A pulse deficit indicates a mismatch between actual heart activity and peripheral blood flow, often pointing to low stroke volume or cardiac weakness.","rendered":"<h1><strong>Heart Sounds (Lub-Dub):<\/strong><\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li>The normal\u00a0<strong>heart sounds<\/strong>\u00a0are described as &#8220;lub&#8221; and &#8220;dub.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lub:<\/strong>\u00a0Occurs during closure of the\u00a0<strong>atrioventricular (AV) valves<\/strong>\u00a0(mitral and tricuspid).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dub:<\/strong>\u00a0Occurs during closure of the\u00a0<strong>semilunar valves<\/strong>\u00a0(aortic and pulmonary).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Origin of the sounds:<\/strong>\u00a0Not from the valves themselves, which are silent, but from the\u00a0<strong>turbulence of blood flow<\/strong>\u00a0as valves close.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1><strong>Additional Heart Sounds:<\/strong><\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li>Sometimes hearing a\u00a0<strong>third<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0<strong>fourth<\/strong>\u00a0heart sound is normal, but more often they indicate abnormal blood flow.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Murmurs:<\/strong>\u00a0Abnormal or extra sounds caused by:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Incompetent valves:<\/strong>\u00a0Valves that do not close properly, causing\u00a0<strong>regurgitation<\/strong>, which produces a swooshing sound.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Septal defects:<\/strong>\u00a0Holes in the septum (especially between ventricles) allow blood flow abnormally, creating additional sounds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1><strong>Pulse and Pulse Deficit<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><strong>Pulse:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Usually reflects the heart rate and strength of cardiac contractions.<\/li>\n<li>Click on the following images if you&#8217;d like to learn more about different pulse sites:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"h5p-115\">\n<div class=\"h5p-iframe-wrapper\"><iframe id=\"h5p-iframe-115\" class=\"h5p-iframe\" data-content-id=\"115\" style=\"height:1px\" src=\"about:blank\" frameBorder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"Pulse Sites\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Pulse Deficit:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An\u00a0<strong>abnormal condition<\/strong>\u00a0where there&#8217;s a difference between the\u00a0<strong>apical pulse<\/strong>\u00a0(listening with a stethoscope over the heart) and the\u00a0<strong>radial pulse<\/strong>\u00a0(felt at the wrist).<\/li>\n<li>Common scenario:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Apical pulse:<\/strong>\u00a060 beats per minute.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Radial pulse:<\/strong>\u00a040 beats per minute.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Implication:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The heart is beating, but the\u00a0<strong>pressure wave<\/strong>\u00a0is not reaching the periphery properly or strongly enough to be felt at the wrist.<\/li>\n<li>Indicates issues like\u00a0<strong>low stroke volume<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0<strong>weak cardiac contractions<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Causes of Pulse Deficit:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Poor filling of the heart:<\/strong>\u00a0Decreased preload or volume leading to less effective ejection.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Weak contraction:<\/strong>\u00a0Heart muscle weakness impairing ejection volume (stroke volume).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Why this is important:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It signals a cardiac problem, such as\u00a0<strong>heart failure<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0<strong>arrhythmias<\/strong>\u00a0affecting blood flow efficiency.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1><strong>Summary:<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>Understanding heart sounds and pulse dynamics provides critical information on cardiac function. Normal heartbeats produce recognizable &#8220;lub-dub&#8221; sounds due to blood turbulence at valve closures. Abnormal sounds like murmurs can suggest valvular or septal defects. A pulse deficit indicates a mismatch between actual heart activity and peripheral blood flow, often pointing to low stroke volume or cardiac weakness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1370,"menu_order":8,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":["zoe-soon"],"pb_section_license":"cc-by-nc-sa"},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[60],"license":[57],"class_list":["post-4720","chapter","type-chapter","status-web-only","hentry","contributor-zoe-soon","license-cc-by-nc-sa"],"part":55,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/4720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1370"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/4720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5740,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/4720\/revisions\/5740"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/55"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/4720\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=4720"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=4720"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathophysiology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=4720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}