Cardiac Vascular Nursing Certification 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

Mitral stenosis is characterized by a diastolic murmur, which occurs when the left atrium contracts and blood flows into the left ventricle through the narrowed mitral valve. This process leads to turbulence in blood flow during the diastolic phase of the cardiac cycle, resulting in a distinct sound that can be heard with a stethoscope.

The diastolic murmur associated with mitral stenosis is typically low-pitched and can be best heard at the apex of the heart, often accompanied by a loud first heart sound (S1) and a prominent, opening snap. This pattern is crucial for clinicians to identify as it helps in diagnosing mitral stenosis, which can have significant implications for patient management and treatment options.

While systolic murmurs are associated with conditions like aortic stenosis or mitral regurgitation, and a continuous murmur is heard in situations such as a patent ductus arteriosus, these are not relevant in the context of mitral stenosis. The term "suboptimal murmur" is not a recognized classification of heart murmurs in medical literature, making it less applicable as well. Understanding the diastolic nature of the murmur linked to mitral stenosis is key in