Simply Heart Health

A stethoscope is an integral piece of medical equipment – together with a sphygmomanometer – in a doctor and nurse’s therapeutic arsenal. Stethoscopes enable medical professionals to listen to sounds inside the human body. These would include the wheezes of asthma and the rales of pneumonia in the lungs, abnormal heart sounds like murmurs and arrhythmias in the heart, the presence and/or absence of abdominal sounds such as borborygmi (the rumbling sounds resulting from the contractions of the stomach and intestines), and crepitus (grating, popping and crackling sounds) coming from the joints and tendons. These sounds that the various organ systems make will aid the doctor in diagnosing the disease that a patient has. Because of this, doctor’s need the best stethoscope to help them in their diagnostics.

What are the qualities that doctors look for in good stethoscopes?
The most important qualities is that they should have great acoustics so that the doctor and/or nurse will be able to hear the various body sounds clearly. Also, because the medical professional is always on the go, the gadget should be easy to carry around and should not encumber the doctor when he or she is making other forms of examination on the patient.

When it comes to the term “best stethoscope”, arguably, it is almost always associated with the 3M Littmann Cardiology stethoscope, or simply the Littmann stethoscope.

The 3M Littmann stethoscope was the creation of Harvard Medical School professor Dr. David Littmann, who made significant changes to earlier models. The result is a stethoscope that is definitely much lighter in weight and provides great acoustics. Since its introduction in the 1970s, 3M has been developing their line of stethoscopes to meet the needs and demands of doctors (specifically cardiologists), nurses, paramedics and other medical professionals worldwide. Their latest offering is the Littmann Cardiology III (sometimes written as Littmann Cardiology iii) Stethoscope.

Product Description
The Littmann Cardiology III or Littmann Cardiology iii Stethoscope is 27 inches long and is available in a variety of colors, including Black, Gray, Red, Plum, and Burgundy, just to name a few. It comes with a 5 year warranty.

Among the stethoscope’s parts is a solid stainless steel chestpiece, an adjustable double-leaf binaural spring, 3M’s patented Littmann Snap Tight Soft-Sealing eartips, and non-chill rims which provide a warm surface on the gadget when auscultating (listening to sounds in the body) a patient.

The stethoscope’s most distinctive feature is its two tunable diaphragms – adult and pediatric – which will enable the user to hear both low and high frequency sounds. The “two-tubes-in-one” design also eliminates the noise created by the rubbing of the tubes against each other as well as other background noises.

The Pros
The Littmann Cardiology III has excellent acoustics, exceeding that of previous models. You can easily hear lower and higher frequencies with the tunable adult and pediatric diaphragms. Also, you can catch better sounds because the tubes are wider. In addition, the soft-sealing eartips fit your ears perfectly, thus preventing outside noises to be heard.

To give you an idea of how good the acoustics of this stethoscope are, you can easily pick up Grade 1/6 murmurs, even in children. Grade 1/6 murmurs are very faint abnormal heart sounds which would require special effort to be able to detect them. But with the Littmann stethoscope, you can hear these faint sounds very clearly. Also, you can hear body sounds regardless of whether the patient has thin or thick bandaging.

One consideration that doctors have when it comes to stethoscopes is the ease or difficulty by which they put the gadget on. Other stethoscope brands have chestpieces that you need to tug apart with great effort in order to use them. But not so with the Littmann Cardiology III. The binaural spring of the chestpiece can be adjusted so that you can put on the stethoscope fast, such as during emergency situations.

Last but not least, this model stethoscope is patient friendly because of its non-chill rubber sleeves and rims. A lot of patients get uncomfortable when their skin comes in contact with the cold metal surface of the diaphragm. In fact, in the past, doctors and nurses would need to rub the diaphragm between their hands in order to warm it up, just to prevent giving discomfort to their patients. This factor has been thankfully remedied in the Littman Cardiology III Stethoscope.

The Cons
The acoustic parts adjustments made to the Littmann Cardiology III have made this stethoscope a bit heavier than other stethoscope brands. Also, because you have two diaphragms in one, you will need to remove the non-chill plastic bell sleeve on the bell diaphragm if you are going to be using the stethoscope on a child patient and then replace it, of course, for an adult. The design of the diaphragm is such that it ccould be difficult to use on curved surfaces.

Some users have found that the tubing of the chestpiece can stiffen and crack after a few of years of use. Vinyl protectors are available to protect the tubing.

Despite The Few Cons Medical Professionals Give The Product High Ratings
Many medical professionals who use the Littmann Cardiology III stethoscope can only attest to its convenience and practicality. More so, they are lauding the better acoustics, which enables them to examine and diagnose their patients properly. Doctors and nurses who use the Littmann Stehoscope with satisfaction suggest that those who are having trouble with it learn the right techniques to use the device properly and observe good care and maintenance. The product will last for years to come..

If you are looking for the best stethoscope none gives such excellent acoustics as the 3M Littmann Cardiology III Stethoscope. Click here to buy it or get additional information.