A cardiac or Heart Murmur is an unusual sound made by the heart. Heart murmurs are very common in babies and children. Many young children go through heart murmurs but their parents are not usually able to identify them.
A cardiac or Heart Murmur is an unusual sound made by the heart. Heart murmurs are very common in babies and children. Many young children go through heart murmurs but their parents are not usually able to identify them.
Children have higher heart rates than adults and can easily be heard in the stethoscope.
Blood has to negotiate two tight bends as it flows through the heart. The flow of blood traveling through the heart and blood vessels in this way can also make a noise, and this is known as an ‘innocent’ murmur. Innocent murmurs can sometimes come and go, becoming noisier if the heart is beating fast – after exercise or with a fever – and quieter as a child sleeps.
As the years go by, the heart rate slows and the heart grows and lies deeper within the body. The normal bends within the heart become less tight, and an innocent murmur therefore disappears.
In rarer cases, a heart murmur can come from abnormal blood flow within the heart and blood vessels. This might be related to either a narrow or leaking valve, or a hole in the wall between the two chambers of the heart or between the two main arteries of the heart.
There aren’t any visible signs or symptoms of heart murmur and they can only be detected through routine checkups with a pediatrician or pediatric cardiologist.
Heart murmurs are treated in extreme conditions. There are certain murmurs called ‘innocent heart murmurs’ when through a stethoscope and usually do not require any follow-up or treatment.
The quality of the murmur suggests that it is because of some structural changes or problems in the heart. In this case, a child needs to be thoroughly examined and investigated by the pediatric cardiologist who might then perform certain non-invasive cardiac imaging and test to see what problem might be causing any serious heart murmur.
