Heart Rate on Overweight Patients

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I have had a problem hearing the heart sounds on overweight patients. I know I am placing the stethoscope in the correct place because I have had no problems on all "normal weight" patients. Sometimes in an overweight patient I can hear a faint heart beat but it is much harder to find than it is in a thinner patient. Are there any tips for me on how I can hear the heart sounds better? Help is much appreciated! Thank you!

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Are you lifting up the left breast tissue when you are taking an apical pulse with this patient? Also what kind of stethoscope are you using? I find the littmann stethoscopes seem to pick up sounds better. I hope this helps.

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Some people are so overweight that their heart sounds are muffled from their big body mass. Get an ADC or Littman cardiac stethoscope. Yeah, they're expensive, but they pick up a lot more. Even with my ADC cardiac heart sounds are soft on a big patient.

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Okay I was thinking about getting a littmann stethoscope. I have heard good things about them so maybe I will try that. Thank you!

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