Understanding the stages of physical examination of the heart

A physical examination of the heart is one of the examinations carried out by health care workers to check your health condition thoroughly. Physical examination of the heart is very important, especially for someone who has symptoms of chest pain or a history or risk factors for heart and blood vessel disorders, such as coronary heart disease and high blood pressure.

Process of Physical Examination of the Heart

Before doing a physical examination of the heart, the doctor will usually ask the symptoms first. In addition to chest pain, complaints that usually also occur are irregular heartbeat, swelling of the limbs (edema), difficulty breathing when lying down, or loss of consciousness (fainting). Your doctor will also ask about your health history, including cholesterol levels, blood pressure, daily activities, alcohol consumption habits, smoking habits, and family history of illnesses, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, heart attacks, and heart failure. After getting information about your symptoms and medical history, your doctor will perform a physical examination of the heart in the following ways:

• Inspection

Many instructions for seeing the condition of the heart with a simple visual examination or inspection. At this stage of physical examination of the heart, an assessment of the condition of the heart is carried out, among others, by observing the shape and condition of the chest, blood vessels in the neck, and the presence or absence of swelling in the legs or in other organs.

• Palpation

Palpation is a physical examination of the heart by a doctor to assess the performance and condition of the heart, and also see if there are abnormalities that may be caused through palpating heartbeats on the surface of the chest wall. Palpation can also be done to assess swelling in the limbs, whether due to fluid buildup or not.

• Percussion

Percussion in a physical examination of the heart is done by tapping the chest surface with fingers. The knocking sound produced, will be used as an indicator of the condition of the heart and surrounding organs, especially the lungs.

• Auscultation

Auscultation is an examination method in which the doctor listens to the patient's heart sounds. Auscultation is done using a device called a stethoscope. The doctor will then assess whether the heart sounds are normal, or indicate abnormalities or disorders of the heart. Auscultation can also assess changes in breath sounds in the lungs, if there is fluid retention due to heart problems.

Of the four components of the examination, the doctor can determine the results of the examination whether you have signs of heart disease or not. If there are suspicious results on a physical examination of the heart, then usually the doctor will recommend further examination.

Recommended Advanced Examination

This further examination was carried out as a confirmation step from the findings on physical examination of the heart. The doctor will use the results of the examination to establish the diagnosis and determine the treatment needed. Further tests that are usually carried out are:

• Electrocardiogram (ECG)
• Echocardiogram
• MRI / CT Scan
• Blood test
• X-ray
• Coronary angiography

The doctor will determine the type of follow-up examination that needs to be done, according to the results of a physical examination of the heart and suspected interference. If deemed necessary, your doctor may also refer you to a specialist heart and blood vessels, so you can get more specific treatment. Especially for those of you who have a history or risk factors for heart disease, you should start living a healthy lifestyle. Start by stopping smoking, implementing a healthy diet, maintaining a balanced weight, regular exercise, maintaining blood pressure, and managing stress properly.