What is a Heart Murmur?
A heart murmur is an unusual sound heard while a physician or other medical professional is listening to your heartbeat. Murmurs can be very faint or they can be very loud. Sometimes they sound like a whooshing or swishing sound. The sounds are made when blood flows through the heart.
A heart murmur is not a disease. It is a sound and does not necessary signal any abnormality of the heart. Individuals can have unusual sounds of the heart and be perfectly healthy. At other times a murmur can indicate that there could be a heart problem, especially if there are other accompanying signs or symptoms.
There are two different types of heart murmurs. There are the innocent, harmless murmurs that are heard when there is normal heart function and no other signs or symptoms of a heart problem. Lots of healthy children have heart murmurs. Abnormal murmurs are often accompanied by other signs or symptoms of heart problems. These abnormal murmurs are heard in children who have congenital heart defects. Abnormal murmurs are also heard when there is a heart valve problem caused by an infection, a disease or by the aging process.
If there are no other signs or symptoms, then the heart murmur is harmless. There may be other signs and symptoms if the heart murmur is abnormal. Signs and symptoms of an abnormal heart murmur may include a blue color to the skin, poor feeding in infants (with a failure to thrive), fast breathing, excessive sweating, pain in the chest region, dizziness, shortness of breath, fainting and feeling very tired. The signs and symptoms experienced will depend on the cause of the heart murmur and the severity of the problem that is causing the heart murmur.
Heart murmurs can be heard at any age. If an abnormal heart murmur is heard, the individual will be referred to a heart specialist (cardiologist) to have further evaluations and testing to determine the cause of the murmur and the severity of it. The evaluation of the murmur will include:
- How faint or loud the sound is. There is a grading scale of 1 for faint and 6 for very loud.
- An assessment will be made to determine when the sound occurs in the cycle of the heartbeat.
- The sound will be noted as to where it is heard (neck, back or chest).
- The sound will have either a high, medium or low pitch and will have a duration that will be noted.
- Tests will be conducted to determine if the sound is heard during exercise, change in body position or if breathing changes it.
Murmur classifications –
- Systolic is when the heart is squeezed and pumping blood out of it.
- Diastolic is heard when the heart is in the relaxed position and is filling with blood. Diastolic heart murmurs are often a sign of a heart defect or of heart disease.
- Continuous heart murmurs are heard during the entire heart beat and are often a sign of heart defect or heart disease.
Medical professionals may order chest x-ray or an EKG to further evaluate the heart murmur. Other follow-up tests, usually done by a cardiologist, may be an echocardiogram or cardiac catheterization.
Pregnant women and healthy children who have harmless murmurs do not need any treatment but should always alert their doctors to the fact that a harmless murmur had been heard.
Individuals can get harmless murmurs during certain illnesses or conditions such as anemia, hyperthyroidism or when they have a fever. The murmur goes away when the illness or condition resolves itself.
Treatment for abnormal murmurs depend on the specific heart problem that is causing the murmur. Treatment may include medication, or surgery or both.
The important things to remember about heart murmurs is that they can be harmless, innocent sounds or they can signal a serious heart problem or condition. Most murmurs are harmless and can be a result of an illness or condition that will go away when the illness or condition resolves itself. If a heart problem does exist, the individual will be referred to a cardiologist for further evaluation and treatment
Source: Associated Content, 07-30-2008, Laura Quintile