The apex cardiac beat: Not a reliable clinical sign in elderly patients

E. Mulkerrin, R. Saran, R. Dewar, J. R. Harding, A. J. Bayer, P. Finucane

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

To assess its reliability as a marker of cardiomegaly in elderly patients, we compared a clinical assessment of heart size with that calculated from chest radiography. In 100 hospitalized subjects of median age 78 years, the apex beat was palpable in only 35% and its palpability declined with increasing age. Even when palpable, the apex beat had low specificity (74%) and sensitivity (69%) as a marker of cardiomegaly and its positive predictive value (69%) and negative predictive value (74%) were poor. The clinical assessment of heart size in elderly hospitalized patients should be interpreted with caution.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)304-306
Number of pages3
JournalAge and Ageing
Volume20
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 1991
Externally publishedYes

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