What could be the cause of bruits?!


Question:

What could be the cause of bruits?

My husband just saw the Dr. and he said he heard a swooshing sound with his stethascope...in my husbands lower left abdoman. He didn't think it was heart related cause it IS so low. He called it bruits and ordered him to have an ultrasound done. What could it be they are looking for? I am worried as he is also. Can someone please tell us something it might be that may be minor. Or is this very serious? Dr. checked him before and he never heard this. What could it be? And what will they have to do? What can an ultrasound show in this case? Thank you for any information you may have. He has nothing to indicate any problem. It was a routine check up.....He had not been sick or anything. Wouldn't there be signs of a problem if there were one?


Answers:

According to the Online Medical Dictionary (OMD), a bruit is defined as:

"<cardiology, clinical sign> An unexpected audible swishing sound or murmur heard over an artery or vascular channel. Indicates increased turbulence often caused by a partial obstruction."

Online Medical Dictionary - Bruit
http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?q...

I searched MedlinePlus and found this statement:

"Early atherosclerosis can create a whooshing or blowing sound ("bruit") over an artery."

Read the article at this link:

MedlinePlus - Atherosclerosis
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/...

Your doctor is being safe. While he dosen't think it's the heart, he want's to be sure by having it evaluated further. It may be nothing to worry about at all. I suspect that plaque build-up is not the only cause of bruit.

Terry




The consumer health information on answer-health.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
The answer content post by the user, if contains the copyright content please contact us, we will immediately remove it.
Copyright © 2007-2011 answer-health.com -   Terms of Use -   Contact us

Health Categories