Valvular Heart Disease

A wide pulse pressure produces a long list of eponyms

A memory aid for the eponymous peripheral signs of aortic regurgitation.

SAD: Syncope, Angina, Dyspnoea

A mnemonic for the symptoms, signs and severity of aortic stenosis.

Four fibrous rings that anchor the valves, attach the myocardium and insulate atria from ventricles

A memory aid for the functions of the fibrous skeleton of the heart.

The five Ts, numbered by the great vessel count

A mnemonic for the cyanotic congenital heart lesions.

Parasternal, apical and subcostal windows, transthoracic or transoesophageal

A memory aid for the standard echocardiographic views and what they answer.

S1 atrioventricular valves close, S2 semilunar valves close, S3 rapid filling, S4 atrial contraction

A memory aid for what produces each of the four heart sounds.

Tricuspid has anterior, posterior and septal cusps; mitral has anterior and posterior

A memory aid for the names of the cusps of each heart valve.

A mid-diastolic murmur with an opening snap, almost always rheumatic

A memory aid for the signs and complications of mitral stenosis.

SCRIPT: Site, Character, Radiation, Intensity, Pitch, Timing

A mnemonic for describing a heart murmur completely.

Systolic murmurs come from stenotic outflow or leaking inflow valves, and diastolic murmurs the reverse

A mnemonic for the causes of systolic and diastolic murmurs.

JONES for the major criteria, FEAR for the minor

A mnemonic for the Jones criteria for acute rheumatic fever.

Normal splitting widens on inspiration; wide, fixed and reversed splitting are abnormal

A memory aid for the patterns of S2 splitting and their causes.

PROVe: Pulmonary stenosis, Right ventricular hypertrophy, Overriding aorta, VSD

A mnemonic for the four features of tetralogy of Fallot.

Stenosis creates a pressure load; regurgitation creates a volume load

A memory aid for the loading conditions produced by each valve lesion.