Severe Aortic Stenosis Auscultation Lesson with Recordings
Virtual Auscultation
The patient's position is sitting.
Lesson
In severe aortic stenosis, there is a diamond-shaped systolic murmur continuing through systole. The murmur is loud and higher pitched than a mild aortic stenosis murmur.
S1 is normal. S2 is louder than normal. In fact, you are hearing only the accentuated pulmonic component of S2 due to heart failure on the left side. The aortic ejection click heard in mild cases of valvular aortic stenosis is gone. A fourth heart sound can often be heard in late diastole. This is caused by the increased left ventricular wall thickness and stiffness.
Calcification of the aortic valve leaflets is a cause of this murmur. When viewing the cardiac animation, look for a greatly thickened left ventricular wall and the almost totally immobile aortic leaflets.
Waveform
Heart Sounds Video
Authors and Sources
Authors and Reviewers
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Heart sounds by Dr. Jonathan Keroes, MD and David Lieberman, Developer, Virtual Cardiac Patient.
- Lung sounds by Diane Wrigley, PA
- Respiratory cases: William French
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David Lieberman, Audio Engineering
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Heart sounds mentorship by W. Proctor Harvey, MD
- Special thanks for the medical mentorship of Dr. Raymond Murphy
- Reviewed by Dr. Barbara Erickson, PhD, RN, CCRN.
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Last Update: 12/11/2022
Sources
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Heart and Lung Sounds Reference Library
Diane S. Wrigley
Publisher: PESI -
Impact Patient Care: Key Physical Assessment Strategies and the Underlying Pathophysiology
Diane S Wrigley & Rosale Lobo - Practical Clinical Skills: Lung Sounds
- Essential Lung Sounds
Diane S. Wrigley, PA-C
Published by MedEdu LLC - PESI Faculty - Diane S Wrigley
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Case Profiles in Respiratory Care 3rd Ed, 2019
William A.French
Published by Delmar Cengage - Essential Lung Sounds
by William A. French
Published by Cengage Learning, 2011 - Understanding Lung Sounds
Steven Lehrer, MD
- Clinical Heart Disease
W Proctor Harvey, MD
Clinical Heart Disease
Laennec Publishing; 1st edition (January 1, 2009)
