The prevalence of epigastric bruit

A study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of an epigastric bruit in a family practice population.Auscultation of the abdomen in the supine position was carried out on 567 consecutive unselected patients. A systolic bruit, localized to the epigastrium, was heard in 80 patients, none of whom had symptoms of intra-abdominal vascular disorder.The results are tabulated by age and sex, and show statistically significant differences in prevalence between males and females of similar ages, and also between different age groups of the same sex. The highest prevalence is in females aged between 10 and 34 years and no significant difference is found between pregnant and non-pregnant females of comparable age.