Nov 16, 2015

A heart sound

Have you ever heard of heart sounds?
I am not talking about the voice of the heart but sounds that the heart makes physically.

Here is a normal heart sound. ♪♪♪ (click to hear)

I recommend that you listen to the sound with earphones jammed in tight. PC Speakers would not work well in terms of the reality. Sorry about the back ground noise but this is a real heart sound that doctors listen to with a stethoscope in dairy clinical practice.

Heart sounds are basically composed of two elements, the first and second sound. If your heart sounds have more components other than the first and second sound, you should go see your physician because an additional heart sound may be associated with heart problems.

Interestingly, the third heart sound is common among healthy children and adolescents, called "physiological third sound". The third sound disappears in their twenties and can appear later when you suffer from heart diseases, for example heart failure.