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A heart murmur is a whooshing sound between heart beats.
The doctor hears it through a stethoscope. It’s easier to hear
heart murmurs in kids because they have less fat, muscle and
bone between the murmur and the doctor’s stethoscope! This
whoosh is just an extra sound that the blood makes as it flows
through the heart. Doctors can discover murmurs during regular
checkups or an illness checkup.
Murmurs have grades too! Grade 1 is the softest sounding and
Grade 6 is the loudest!
More than half of all kids have a heart murmur at some time in
their lives and most heart murmurs don’t mean anything is
wrong. Some doctors call these “normal” murmurs. These are
nothing to worry about as they are caused by blood rushing
through the heart valves in a normal heart. One common type of
this normal murmur is called Still’s murmur. This murmur is
most often heard in healthy children age 3 to 7.
A normal murmur can get louder when the blood flows faster
through the heart. An example of this is when kids have a fever
or are running around. That is because an increase in body
temperature or activity makes the heart pump more blood.
When the body temperature goes down, the murmur may get
quieter or even disappear.
Even though most murmurs do not mean anything is wrong,
sometimes a heart problem can cause a murmur. The heart may
have a leaky valve, a hole in it or a valve that may not open all
the way. If your doctor thinks a murmur may be due to a
problem, the doctor will send a child to the pediatric cardiologist
who specializes in children’s hearts.
The doctor hears it through a stethoscope. It’s easier to hear
heart murmurs in kids because they have less fat, muscle and
bone between the murmur and the doctor’s stethoscope! This
whoosh is just an extra sound that the blood makes as it flows
through the heart. Doctors can discover murmurs during regular
checkups or an illness checkup.
Murmurs have grades too! Grade 1 is the softest sounding and
Grade 6 is the loudest!
More than half of all kids have a heart murmur at some time in
their lives and most heart murmurs don’t mean anything is
wrong. Some doctors call these “normal” murmurs. These are
nothing to worry about as they are caused by blood rushing
through the heart valves in a normal heart. One common type of
this normal murmur is called Still’s murmur. This murmur is
most often heard in healthy children age 3 to 7.
A normal murmur can get louder when the blood flows faster
through the heart. An example of this is when kids have a fever
or are running around. That is because an increase in body
temperature or activity makes the heart pump more blood.
When the body temperature goes down, the murmur may get
quieter or even disappear.
Even though most murmurs do not mean anything is wrong,
sometimes a heart problem can cause a murmur. The heart may
have a leaky valve, a hole in it or a valve that may not open all
the way. If your doctor thinks a murmur may be due to a
problem, the doctor will send a child to the pediatric cardiologist
who specializes in children’s hearts.
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| What Is A Heart Murmur? |
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This pediatric cardiologist will ask a lot of questions. The doctor
will also listen to your heart, check your pulse and listen to your
lungs. Sometimes they will order a chest X-ray and
electrocardiogram (EKG) which measures electrical activity of the
heart. Another test may be an echocardiogram of the heart.
This test uses sound waves to make a picture of the heart as the
blood is pumped through its chambers and valves. These tests
don’t hurt.
The pediatric cardiologist will take all the information from the
tests and determine if your murmur is causing a problem for
you! The doctor may prescribe medicines to help prevent
infection, to help the heart squeeze harder, prevent blood clots,
remove extra fluid from the body or lower blood pressure. In
some cases, surgery is needed to fix the problem. Doctors can
patch a hole in the heart, fix a valve, rebuild blood vessels or
stretch one open that’s too narrow!
Most of the time though, a heart murmur isn’t a big problem. A
kid with a murmur can run, jump and play like everyone else.
will also listen to your heart, check your pulse and listen to your
lungs. Sometimes they will order a chest X-ray and
electrocardiogram (EKG) which measures electrical activity of the
heart. Another test may be an echocardiogram of the heart.
This test uses sound waves to make a picture of the heart as the
blood is pumped through its chambers and valves. These tests
don’t hurt.
The pediatric cardiologist will take all the information from the
tests and determine if your murmur is causing a problem for
you! The doctor may prescribe medicines to help prevent
infection, to help the heart squeeze harder, prevent blood clots,
remove extra fluid from the body or lower blood pressure. In
some cases, surgery is needed to fix the problem. Doctors can
patch a hole in the heart, fix a valve, rebuild blood vessels or
stretch one open that’s too narrow!
Most of the time though, a heart murmur isn’t a big problem. A
kid with a murmur can run, jump and play like everyone else.
