A heart attack can be detected with a stethoscope although the doctor will also want to do other tests on your heart when they suspect a heart attack.
The closing of your heart's valves makes a "lub dub" noise.
The doctor can check your heart and valve health and hear your heart's rate and rhythm by listening to those sounds.
If you go to the hospital for a suspected heart attack, a doctor or nurse will listen to your chest with a stethoscope.
You will have a blood test to look for heart damage.
A stethoscope can diagnose issues such as.
Heart sounds.
Murmurs.
Clicks.
Rubs.
When doctors hear a “galloping” heart rhythm, it may indicate heart muscle dysfunction or that the muscle is being overworked.
Your doctor will use a stethoscope to hear your heartbeat.
The closing of your heart's valves makes a "lub dub" noise.
The doctor can check your heart and valve health and hear your heart's rate and rhythm by listening to those sounds.
The correct way to wear a stethoscope is the ear tips of the stethoscope should point in a forward direction when you place them in your ears.
The ear tips should point in a forward direction as you insert them into your ears.
The stethoscope headset is angled to complement the anatomy of the typical ear canal and is designed to provide a comfortable, acoustically-sealed fit.
Things you should look for in a stethoscope are.
High-Quality Acoustics.
Good Fit for Medical Specialty.
Tunable Chest Pieces.
Easy to Clean.
Flexible Diaphragm.
Durable Materials.
Comfort and Ease of Use.
Versatility.
When taking your blood pressure with a stethoscope you need both the stethoscope as well as a blood pressure cuff and gauge.
When the cuff is inflated, place the stethoscope just inside the elbow crease under the cuff.
Slowly deflate the balloon and listen through the stethoscope.
When the first beats hit, note the number on the aneroid monitor. This is the systolic pressure.
The bell side of the stethoscope is better for blood pressure.
The bell of the stethoscope is suggested because it is used for low-pitched sounds like blood pressure.
To check if your heart is healthy you can use a stethoscope and also have your heart rate checked.
Your heart rate should normally range between 60 to 100 beats per minute, although many doctors prefer their patients to be in the 50 to 70-beat range.
If you train regularly, your per-minute heart rate may be as low as 40, which typically indicates excellent physical condition.
A heartbeat should sound like a lub and a dup sound.
A normal heartbeat has two sounds, a lub (sometimes called S1) and a dub (S2).
These sounds are caused by the closing of valves inside your heart.
If there are problems in your heart, there may be additional or abnormal sounds.
Normally, two distinct sounds are heard through the stethoscope: a low, slightly prolonged “lub” (first sound) occurring at the beginning of ventricular contraction, or systole, and produced by closure of the mitral and tricuspid valves, and a sharper, higher-pitched “dup” (second sound).
When listening for heart sounds you use the bell of the stethoscope.
The bell of the stethoscope is used for listening to low frequency sounds while the diaphragm of the stethoscope is used for listening to higher frequency sounds.
The bell is best for detecting lower pitch sounds, like some heart murmurs, and some bowel sounds.
It is used for the detection of bruits, and for heart sounds (for a cardiac exam, you should listen with the diaphragm, and repeat with the bell).
The reason a stethoscope has two different sides for listening is one side of the stethoscope is used to listen to low frequency sounds and the other side of the stethoscope is used to listen to high frequency sounds.
The bell end of the stethoscope is the end of the stethoscope that is used to listen to low frequency sounds.
The other side of the stethoscope which is the diaphragm is used to listen higher frequency sounds.
Most times doctors use the larger part of the stethoscope to listen to your stomach and heart and the smaller side of the stethoscope to listen to your wrist and pulse when taking your blood pressure.
So one side of the stethoscope lets you listen to higher frequency sounds such as the heart and the other side lets you listen to lower frequency sounds such as your pulse.