Mitral regurgitation murmur is best described as which of the following?

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Multiple Choice

Mitral regurgitation murmur is best described as which of the following?

Mitral regurgitation is classically a holosystolic, high-pitched blowing murmur heard best at the apex and radiating to the left axilla. This reflects blood that regurgitates from the left ventricle into the left atrium throughout systole, producing a uniform (pansystolic) murmur centered at the mitral area. The apex location (5th intercostal space at the left midclavicular line) and the axillary radiation are key clues that point to the mitral valve as the source, rather than the tricuspid valve or aortic/pulmonary defects. The murmur tends to become louder with increased afterload (such as with handgrip), because more regurgitant flow occurs when the left ventricle ejects against higher resistance. Other choices describe different lesions: a holosystolic harsh murmur at the left lower sternal border fits tricuspid regurg or a ventricular septal defect, not MR; a diastolic decrescendo murmur at the right upper sternal border is aortic regurg; a continuous machinery murmur at the left infraclavicular area is patent ductus arteriosus.

Mitral regurgitation is classically a holosystolic, high-pitched blowing murmur heard best at the apex and radiating to the left axilla. This reflects blood that regurgitates from the left ventricle into the left atrium throughout systole, producing a uniform (pansystolic) murmur centered at the mitral area. The apex location (5th intercostal space at the left midclavicular line) and the axillary radiation are key clues that point to the mitral valve as the source, rather than the tricuspid valve or aortic/pulmonary defects. The murmur tends to become louder with increased afterload (such as with handgrip), because more regurgitant flow occurs when the left ventricle ejects against higher resistance.

Other choices describe different lesions: a holosystolic harsh murmur at the left lower sternal border fits tricuspid regurg or a ventricular septal defect, not MR; a diastolic decrescendo murmur at the right upper sternal border is aortic regurg; a continuous machinery murmur at the left infraclavicular area is patent ductus arteriosus.

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