This site is intended for healthcare professionals

account_circleSign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Impalpable apex beat

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

If the apex beat is impalpable then the following possibilities should be considered:

  • the patient has an excessively muscular or fat chest wall
  • left pleural effusion, pneumothorax, or emphysema
  • there may be a large pericardial effusion
  • constrictive pericarditis
  • marked mediastinal shift
  • dextrocardia
  • very rarely, massive left ventricular hypertrophy may cause the apex beat to be displaced past the mid-axillary line

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page