Abstract
The cardiovascular physical exam is a critical component in clinical medicine. Findings from the cardiac examination (CE) are routinely used as a cost-effective method to assess the presence, classification, and severity of cardiovascular disease (Elder et al., BMJ 354:i3309, 2016; Vukanovic-Criley et al., Arch Intern Med 166(6):610–616, 2006). Unfortunately, studies show a decline in CE skills for generalists at all levels and often do not improve after the third year of medical school (Vukanovic-Criley et al., Arch Intern Med 166(6):610–616, 2006; Mangione et al., JAMA 278(9):717–722, 1997; Vukanovic-Criley et al., Clin Cardiol 33(12):738–745, 2010). This chapter seeks to provide essential guidelines for the CE to inform appropriate and efficient diagnostic and therapeutic management.
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Abbreviations
- bpm:
-
Beats per minute
- CE:
-
Cardiac examination
- CVP:
-
Central venous pressure
- DBP:
-
Diastolic blood pressure
- JVP:
-
Jugular venous pressure
- LVH:
-
Left ventricular hypertrophy
- PMI:
-
Point of maximal impulse
- SBP:
-
Systolic blood pressure
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Modi, R.D., Massad, C.S., Robinson Williams, B. (2022). The Cardiovascular Physical Exam. In: Bhargava, A.A., Wells, B.J., Quintero, P.A. (eds) Handbook of Outpatient Cardiology . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88953-1_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88953-1_5
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