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February 2016 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net |
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Most heart
murmurs aren’t
serious.
What is a Heart
Murmur?
Treatment depends on cause,
patient’s medical status
By Harleena Singh, Staff Writer
A heart murmur is an unusual
sound heard during a heartbeat. It is
made by turbulent blood in or near
your heart. It can be very faint to
very loud; it sometimes sounds like
a swishing or whooshing noise
Heart murmurs can be present at
birth or develop later in life. A heart
murmur is not a disease, but it may
indicate an underlying heart problem. There are two types of heart
murmurs.
• Innocent or harmless heart
murmurs are not caused by heart
problems. A person with an innocent murmur has a normal heart.
These types of murmurs are common in newborns and healthy
children, and most kids have heart
murmurs sometime in their life.
The murmurs are simply sounds
made by blood flowing through
the heart’s chambers and valves or
through the blood vessels near the
heart. The extra blood flow through
the heart may cause innocent heart
murmurs.
Pregnant women often have
innocent heart murmurs due to
extra blood volume. They do not
need treatment because the heart
murmurs usually go away after the
woman gives birth.
Innocent murmurs don’t cause
any symptoms and having one
doesn’t require you to limit your
physical activity or take special precautions. Even if you have an innocent murmur throughout your life,
you won’t need treatment for it.
• Abnormal heart murmurs may
have signs or symptoms of heart
problems. Most abnormal murmurs
in children are caused by congenital
heart defects, which are problems
with the heart’s structure that are
present at birth.
Abnormal heart murmurs in
adults are often caused by acquired
heart valve disease, which develops
as the result of another condition,
such as infections, diseases and
aging.
People with abnormal heart
murmurs may have signs and symptoms that include an enlarged liver,
chest pain, dizziness or fainting,
enlarged neck veins, chronic cough
and swelling or sudden weight gain.
There may also be a bluish color on
the skin, especially on the lips and
fingertips, poor eating and failure
to grow normally (in infants). Also,
shortness of breath may occur only
with physical exertion.
Some medical conditions such
as hyperthyroidism or anemia can
cause heart murmurs that aren’t
related to heart disease, and treating
these conditions should make the
heart murmur go away.
Most heart murmurs aren’t serious, but if you think you or your
child have a heart murmur, tell your
doctor. Risk factors that increase
your chances of developing a heart
murmur include a family history
of a heart defect and medical con-
ditions such as hypertension or
endocarditis. Doctors sometimes
detect heart murmurs during routine checkups for another condition. Diagnosis of the cause of the
murmur may involve tests such as a
chest X-ray, a physical examination,
electrocardiograph (ECG), echocardiogram and blood tests.
The treatment for heart murmur
depends on its particular cause and
the underlying medical status of
the patient. Many murmurs need
no further evaluation and can simply be monitored because they are
normal, while other murmurs that
are associated with infected valves
require antibiotics. Some valves
are structurally damaged and need
surgical repair. Infants and children
who have congenital heart disease
may need the help of a cardiologist
to determine the need for medication or surgery.
Maintaining a lifelong hearthealthy lifestyle may help prevent
some heart-valve issues. Some
things you can do include keeping
your cholesterol, blood pressure
and diabetes under control. Regular
exercise, weight management and
quitting smoking also contribute to
a healthy heart.
Heart murmurs can be present at birth or develop later in life.
A heart murmur is no