Make sure that the listening area is quiet, and importantly, do not listen through the patient's clothing. Warm your stethoscope either by carrying it in your pants pocket or by vigorously rubbing it.

At the onset of a heart attack, people often have a few telltale symptoms: pain in the chest or arm, heartburn, shortness of breath. But only one of these is immediately obvious to the outside ...

Of note, if the patient is bedfast, complete evaluation of respiratory efficiency is often less than optimal because chest expansion is not always symmetric and percussion notes may be less resonant.