Relationship of the physiologic third heart sound to the jugular-venous pulse

Abstract

Heart sounds, carotid pulses, jugular-venous pulses, electrocardiograms, as well as a careful history and physical examination, were obtained in sixty young adult medical students. No cardiac abnormality was noted in any of the subjects. A Cambridge 4-channel, direct writing recorder was principally used in the study. However, most of the subjects with the third heart sound were restudied at a later date, recording the heart sounds and jugular-venous pulses on a Sanborn twin-beam photographic oscillograph. Jugular pulses were obtained high in the neck and over the jugular bulb with the use of a glycerine capsule as well as with the suction-cup-type end piece. Care was used to obtain as “pure” a jugular pulse as possible. The importance of this will be presented subsequently. The time of the occurrence of the third heart sound, in relationship to the jugular-venous pulse, was identical with all types of recording technic used.