[Physical symptoms in heart failure]

Certain physical signs of heart failure found on examination of the neck veins, the arteries and the heart itself often are ignored. These neglected though important signs are abnormalities of the jugular venous pulse, arterial pulsus alternans, alterations of the apical impulse and, on auscultation, the third heart sound. Certain clinical conditions cause specific signs of heart failure, i.e. acute myocardial infarction, pulmonary hypertension, cardiac constriction and tamponade as well as acute rupture of the aortic valve. These general and specific signs of heart failure are discussed.