Listen: Heart Sounds Help Diagnose Heart Failure
When a patient at risk of heart failure enters an emergency room complaining of shortness of breath, the first thing a doctor usually reaches for is a stethoscope. The instrument allows physicians to listen for the S3, the aberrant third beat in the heart's rhythmic "lub-dub" sounds.
That low-frequency, low-pitch third heart sound is common in children and young adults, but in older adults or others at risk of cardiac disease, the S3 often means heart failure. Though the S3 is notoriously difficult to hear with a stethoscope, an emerging technology known as acoustic cardiography can help doctors accurately diagnose heart failure in certain patients.
Dramatic Boost in Diagnostic Accuracy
In a study published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, a University of Cincinnati professor of emergency medicine concluded that adding acoustic cardiography boosted diagnostic accuracy 22 percent in cases of heart failure among obese patients, people suffering kidney failure and patients with biomarkers associated with cardiovascular risk and acute heart failure.
Lead author Sean Collins, MD, told Health Newstrack that "Our findings suggest we diagnose heart failure only about half the time in these patients without acoustic cardiography. With it, we improve the accuracy to about 70 percent."
Unnecessary Risks
Physicians who fail to make use of this crucial technology put their patients at risk by misdiagnosing or ignoring life-threatening cardiac complications. The unnecessary risk is exacerbated among those who are overweight, have kidney problems or other warning signs of heart disease.
Doctors are similarly obligated to listen carefully to patients who complain of chest pains, shortness of breath, dizziness and other signs of cardiac distress. Too often, ER physicians hurry through physical examinations without paying attention to warning signs and legitimate complaints from patients.
The Dangers of Poor Communication
A number of studies have clearly demonstrated the significant clinical benefits of clear communications between doctors and patients. A 2007 study at the University of California showed that nearly half of heart patients on anticoagulants weren't taking the proper amount of medications because of poor physician-patient communication.
Patients who have suffered heart failure or other cardiac complications due to misdiagnosis or inaccurate directions or communications from their physician should contact an Ohio medical malpractice attorney for an evaluation of the facts of their case.
