What is a heart murmur?
The heart is made up of muscles which pumps impure blood to lungs and pure blood to body. The flow of blood is smooth i.e. without any turbulence. There are 4 valves in heart to prevent backflow and 2 partitions to prevent mixing of oxygenated pure blood with impure blood.
The heart sounds are the sounds of the valves closing. A heart murmur is an extra and occasionally abnormal sound heard when a doctor listens with a stethoscope. This extra sound is created by turbulent blood flow.
A heart murmur in children caused by turbulent blood flow can be either normal or abnormal:
- In absence of heart defect, two third of children and three fourth of new born can have murmurs. They do not have any significance. They are also called as innocent murmurs. It generally disappears later in life. These babies are healthy and fit. No restriction is required and neither any treatment.
- A small percentage of murmurs have a structural heart problem or defect, which requires further evaluation.
Testing and diagnosis of heart murmur in children
Characteristics of murmur that a doctor will look at to determine if it is normal or abnormal, including:
- Clinical examination
- Symptoms that may suggest heart defect
- Intensity: loud or soft
- Pitch: high or low
- Position: Where on the chest or back it can be heard best
- Change with posture
- Relation with other heart sound
Depending upon above findings, doctor will decide whether the murmur is normal or otherwise. If possibility of abnormal murmur is high, you may be referred to a pediatric cardiologist, a doctor who specializes in heart problems in children. It is very important to see the pediatric cardiologist if your child’s doctor tells you to do so.
A pediatric cardiologist will perform a full evaluation of your child’s health, including getting a history and performing an examination, as well as possibly ordering heart tests such as:
- Electrocardiogram: a record of the electrical activity of the heart
- Echocardiogram (also called “echo” or cardiac ultrasound): sound waves create an image of the heart
- A chest X-ray
Based on your child’s evaluation, doctors will come up with a plan for treating your child.
Murmurs, sometimes don’t show up right away, and develop later. Also, there are some heart abnormalities that don’t even have murmurs. See our list of symptoms that might indicate a heart problem. If your child has any of them, make sure to tell your primary care doctor.