Advice

[Starfly13]

What does a stethoscope pick up regarding the heart and chest

[Sugarplum1811]

Hi starfly13,

I am a second year medical student and a stethoscope can pick up a range of things.

In terms of heart, it picks up the sound your heart makes when the valves close. The “lub dub” that you hear. Abnormal heart sounds are called heart murmurs and that can show a variety of things such as stenosis or regurgitation depending on where your hear the sounds around the heart.

It can also pick up sounds of the lungs and if it sounds rattly or congested, it could show signs of a chest infection such as bronchitis, pneumonia, TB and many more.

I am just wondering why you have asked this question on the anxiety support page? I wonder if this has anything to do with health anxiety? As I suffered greatly with health anxiety in the past (and still sometimes now)

Please know that anxiety can mimic so many symptoms that feel real because they ARE real but that doesn’t necessarily mean there is anything wrong with your heart or lungs. Once you find a way to manage your anxiety you will notice your symptoms disappearing. Also if you try to focus your attention away by distracting yourself and engaging in other activities you won’t notice them as much anyway.

If you are really concerned then please consult your doctor about your worries and concerns, they are there to listen and carry out the appropriate investigations to any physical symptoms you have. Please stay safe and well during the covid19 pandemic, I know anxiety can run high during these periods.

Take care xx

[Nobster]

It picks up enough for the doctor to know if something is wrong and I’ve been there plenty on times when you think you can do better research and find answers that the doctor didn’t give you.

It’s hard but ..... Try to trust someone’s advice rather than go chasing for answers your self as sometimes you can find answers you don’t like.