Undetectable Heart Sounds During Clinical Valvular Heart Disease Assessment

There are many articles about the lack of sensitivity of auscultation in detecting valvular heart disease. The presumption is that this is a training problem, but there may be other issues. Investigators at the University of Michigan sought to determine the extent to which undetectable heart sounds might be contributing to the reported low sensitivity.

They recorded heart sounds, using an electronic stethoscope, in hospitalized patients undergoing echocardiography, which occurred within 72 hours of assessing the heart sounds.

The study included 200 people with an average age of 65 years (37% women; 14% Black; median body-mass index, 29). Nearly three quarters had heart failure, and half had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Heart sounds w…