All patients aged 65 or older should undergo auscultation regardless of symptoms to screen for heart valve disease, say physicians linked with health charity Hearts4heart.

They also want Medicare’s heart health checks to mention cardiac auscultation in the item descriptor, they wrote in a Hearts4heart report last month.

Melbourne cardiovascular physician registrar Dr Geoff Lester underwent four open-heart surgeries due to non-syndromic hereditary thoracic aortic disease, and featured in the report as a patient.

“I know GPs are time-poor, but it only takes a couple of seconds to take a stethoscope from around the neck and put it onto the heart and have a listen,” said Dr Lester, who is also a Heart Foundation ambassador.