A midsystolic click heard on auscultation is most characteristic of which condition?

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Multiple Choice

A midsystolic click heard on auscultation is most characteristic of which condition?

Midsystolic click signals mitral valve prolapse. It comes from the sudden tensing of the chordae tendineae as the mitral valve leaflets billow upward into the left atrium during systole, producing a click after the first heart sound. Often there’s a late systolic murmur from mitral regurgitation, best heard at the apex with the patient in the left lateral decubitus position. The click’s timing and the accompanying murmur change with loading conditions: standing or performing Valsalva lowers venous return, decreasing left ventricular volume, which makes the click occur earlier and the murmur louder and longer; squatting or lying down increases venous return, delaying the click and shortening the murmur. Other common systolic murmurs don’t feature this click: aortic stenosis is a systolic ejection murmur without a midsystolic click; tricuspid regurgitation is holosystolic at the left lower sternal border; pulmonary stenosis is a systolic murmur at the left upper sternal border.

Midsystolic click signals mitral valve prolapse. It comes from the sudden tensing of the chordae tendineae as the mitral valve leaflets billow upward into the left atrium during systole, producing a click after the first heart sound. Often there’s a late systolic murmur from mitral regurgitation, best heard at the apex with the patient in the left lateral decubitus position.

The click’s timing and the accompanying murmur change with loading conditions: standing or performing Valsalva lowers venous return, decreasing left ventricular volume, which makes the click occur earlier and the murmur louder and longer; squatting or lying down increases venous return, delaying the click and shortening the murmur.

Other common systolic murmurs don’t feature this click: aortic stenosis is a systolic ejection murmur without a midsystolic click; tricuspid regurgitation is holosystolic at the left lower sternal border; pulmonary stenosis is a systolic murmur at the left upper sternal border.

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