Mitral murmurs are best heard at which location on the chest?

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Where a murmur is best heard reflects the valve involved. The mitral valve sits at the apex of the heart, typically at the left fifth intercostal space along the midclavicular line. Because the left ventricle and its mitral valve are closest to the chest wall there, mitral murmurs are heard most clearly in that location—often enhanced when the patient is in the left lateral decubitus position and during expiration. The base and the second intercostal spaces align with the aortic and pulmonic areas, so murmurs from those valves are best heard there, not at the apex. Therefore, the apex is the optimal listening point for mitral murmurs.