Stethoscope exam or EKG, which is more interesting?

For me the stethoscope is the best

May be biased because I just got a portable one, but EKG for sure. Theres just something about seeing it in addition to hearing it.

@Erty2 I agree, all the toplessness and breast handling during an ultrasound stress test is the hottest thing ever !

I prefer stethoscope, because i would love to hear the lub dub sound of the heart or the murmurs.

I am crazy into EKG…

Love to feel suction electrodes on my chest but have to say using stethoscope is another big turn on for me :-)

And if you want to increase my excitement put a breathing mask on my face + blood pressure cuffs on both arms… And I´ll be in my medfet heaven !

I love both but would go for an EKG as I own steths and can use them whenever I like. I've only ever had a few EKG's but boy were they memorable

Echo is the best for me.

See here and tell me it is not so !!

https://www.voyeurjpg.com/medical-examinations-girls-anatomy-xray-doctors-and-patient.shtml

Unfortunately images like these are quite rare, also in echo you can see your wife-gf-partner's heart moving in a monitor…

Absolutely the best for me !!

Love using the stethoscope

@merello – That is a super hot set of photographs merello.

Echo is the best for me.

see here and tell me it is not so!!

I go in for an echocardiogram on Monday. Didn't know what to expect. Good timing for your post @merello - looked up the echo test online and hope I can see the monitor during the test and that they don’t have to shave my chest!

Echo is MUCH more interesting. Had my first Echo test on Monday. Mostly laying on my left side and I could watch the screen and see my heart pumping. Amazed at how fast the heart is working and how well it is depicted by the sonogram.

Stethoscope is definitely the top, although ECG have a real medical interest.

A mentionned earlier, in play setting, simultaneous stethoscope auscultation during ECG can also make it

For me, the stethoscope. Nothing beats a cold stethoscope. I find it a lot more intimate. But I do Like ECGs also. It’s usually longer than a stethoscope exam So more exposure.

Barechested … and underwear clad only … while hooked up to an electrocardiogram machine takes me over the edge! My ultimate fantasy would be completely naked and “hooked up!” All of this with an intense stethoscope exam before and after.

For me, both are actually equal: At my internist and cardiologist, one always just flows to the other. Most of the time it's an EKG first (done by a tech), then the doctor comes in, reads the results, and does the full chest exam. That said, I DO like lying on my back, shirt off and exposed while the leads are being stuck onto me.

What I find really exciting is competence and being validated. Steth is up close and personal. What about the Echo?

I’ve never had an EKG, but I think I’d find it more interesting than just a stethoscope, more going on.

An ekg is more interesting for me because it is far less often, takes longer, and generally involves a bit of unexpected shaving.

Hello,

For me it’s the stethoscope exam. I love the feeling of the cold stethoscope on my skin and all the direct positions. And the moving on the skin I love that, too

In reality EKG is done in little serious situation. I mean it's specifically asked for, unlike stethoscope exam.

Luckily I haven't had a separate EKG. (not counting being hooked in hospital) but going the medfet way I find EKG more interesting. That's egst I think as of now.

I feel the stethoscope exam is a bit more personal than the EKG, as the doctor's hands remain on your body as opposed to electrodes that are put into place.

This is tricky…

If I had to pick only one to stick with, I like stethoscopes more. From a non-med fet standpoint there is generally more efficacy to having that available as a tool. Respiratory, cardiac, GI, vascular… it has uses in all the above.

The EKG only really has one purpose. From a med-fet standpoint I think it adds both a lot more realism as well as the ability to leverage power over the patient (making them aware that you can tell what your presence is doing to them), etc.

There obviously is no wrong answer here though, personally I love the idea of being strapped down to an exam table and the doctor watches my EKG while listening to my heartbeat, all the while I hear the beep of my pulse in the background.

A stethoscope exam is most interesting…

Stethoscope auscultation, by far. ECG exam would be nice in a general exam but not by itself.

Certainly ekg for me! I love feeling all the wires and the suction electrodes on my chest, knowing im totally exposed to the machine... bonus points if it has the pulse beep enabled!

They are both equal in my opinion. I like listening to the female heart and then watching it react on the EKG when arousing the patient

From a purely medical point of view they each provide unique but complementary information. The stethoscope lets you know about valvular function, some information about rhythm and a hint about global cardiac function. Other stuff too but that's 90+%. An EKG provides definitive information about rhythm, heart block, chamber hypertrophy, infarction (acute or just previous) and more. Both interesting and both fun. BTW you can get all the basics and more about interpreting EKGs on line. It's a discipline unto itself.

I was in the hospital last week for surgery and i had an ekg and they say i have an irregular heartbeat where it's an extra beat. I was also told my heartbeat was too fast so they are giving me medicine to slow it down. I guess it is their job so they must know what they're talking about. I have had many done in the past but just the first time they said my heartbeat was too fast. I do drink a lot of coffee but i wasn't drinking coffee in the hospital. Hopefully the old ticker will keep going.

In my opinion the stethoscope exam is more interesting. The doc can listen to your heartbeat and the ECG just shows how your heart is beating.

Evaluation of heart function can be achieved through cardiac auscultation, electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis, and echocardiography. Taken together with the overall hemodynamics, these modalities aid in the rapid assessment of the patient’s clinical status.

Heart Sounds (Cardiac auscultation with stethoscope)

• S1: closure of mitral valve (M1) shortly followed by tricuspid valve (T1) (Audio 1)
• S2: closure of aortic valve (A2) shortly followed by pulmonic valve (P2) (Audio 1)
• S3: “ventricular gallop” (Audio 2)
  • S3 occurs in early diastole shortly after A2 due to passive rapid ventricular filling in diastole.
  • It is common and benign in children, adolescents, and young adults and is considered physiologic S3 in these cases.
  • After age 30, S3 is called a ventricular gallop and can be considered a sign of pathology, often due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction and congestive heart failure.
• S4: “atrial gallop” (Audio 3)
  • S4 occurs in late diastole just before S1 due to active rapid ventricular filling during atrial systole.
  • It is almost always abnormal and indicative of reduced ventricular compliance, often from diastolic dysfunction.
• The intensity of heart sounds increases with increasing pressure gradients across the valve.

Electrocardiogram (ECG)

• The electrocardiogram (ECG) is a measurement of how the electrical activity of the heart changes over time. The ECG provides specific waveforms of electrical differences when the atria and ventricles depolarize and repolarize (Figure 1).
• As one of the standard American Society of Anesthesiologists monitors, intraoperative ECG monitoring can aid in the diagnosis of malignant dysrhythmias and myocardial ischemic events.
• Five lead ECGs have the advantage of monitoring for ischemic events (except for the posterior wall) over three lead systems.
• Lead II monitors the right atrium and is the most sensitive for dysrhythmias.
• Lead V5 monitors the lateral wall of the left ventricle and is the most sensitive for ischemic events.
  • ST-segment depression suggests subendocardial ischemia, whereas ST-segment elevation suggests transmural myocardial ischemia.
  • ST-segment depression commonly precedes ST-segment elevation.

Echocardiography (Commonly referred to as an Echo)

Echocardiography is an imaging technique used for real-time evaluation of myocardial, valvular, and hemodynamic performance.

• How does it work?
  • Using the basic principles of ultrasound technology, echocardiography generates dynamic images of the heart from reflections of sound waves.
  • The Doppler effect allows for the visualization of blood flow and measurement of velocity. Continuous wave doppler enables evaluation of high velocity flow but cannot localize the flow. Pulse wave Doppler enables evaluation of flow at a specific point.
• Echocardiography includes two main modalities:

• Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE; transducer placed on the skin)

• TTE is the most commonly used modality, but can be limited in the perioperative setting by surgical field, patient position, or patient condition (i.e., obesity, edema, surgical dressings).
• Perioperative TTE predicts postoperative cardiac events in noncardiac surgical patients at an increased clinical cardiac risk.

• Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE; transducer placed in the esophagus)
  • TEE is indicated for intraoperative monitoring during open-heart surgery, or when TTE is nondiagnostic or limited due to body habitus or other factors.
  • In the operating room, TEE is useful because the probe does not interfere with the surgical field and can be utilized throughout the case for continuous real-time monitoring and evaluation of cardiac structure and function, as well as the quality of the surgical repair.

As Pollux states"from a purely medical point of view they each provide unique but complementary information." So it really depends on what you are hoping to ascertain from your examination. Each provides information when combined provides a very comprehensive detailed picture about an individuals cardiac function.