Browse Guides  internal medicine  cardiology

Congestive heart failure

Prevalence
Causes
Clinical features
Differential diagnosis
Investigations
Therapy
Prevention
Prognosis
Clinical features

Look for evidence of aortic stenosis b
  • listen for a reduced or absent second heart sound, or a fourth heart sound
  • listen for a murmur loudest in late systole and radiating to the right carotid
Why?

Heart sounds and a murmur loudest in late systole help diagnose aortic stenosis

Patient Target Disorder and
Reference Standard
Diagnostic Test LR+
(95% CI)
Post-test Probability LR-
(95% CI)
Post-test Probability
elderly patient with syncope b (pre-test probability: 5%) aortic stenosis
(imaging studies)
reduced or absent 2nd heart sound 50
(24 to 100)
72% 0.45
(0.34 to 0.58)
2%
    4th heart sound 2.5
(2.1 to 3.0)
12% 0.26
(0.14 to 0.49)
1%
    any murmur 2.4
(2.2 to 2.7)
11% 0.0
(0.0 to 0.13)
0%
    murmur loudest in late systole 101
(25 to 410)
84% 0.31
(0.22 to 0.44)
2%
    radiation to right carotid 1.4
(1.3 to 1.5)
7% 0.10
(0.13 to 0.40)
0.5%

 

Expiry date: June 2003
Levels of Evidence used in grading these guides

Author   CM   Ball
Reviewer   B   Lee
CAT Writers   CM   Ball , CJ   Wotton , A   Yates