According to the American Heart Association , it usually feels like a very subtle extra pulse. Heart murmurs are common, especially among young children. They are usually normal and are called innocent heart murmurs.
Research shows that nearly half of all children have innocent heart murmurs that disappear as they grow. Most heart murmurs are normal and may run in your family. However, abnormal heart murmurs are signs of a more serious problem like heart disease. Abnormal murmurs often come with other symptoms. There are several different types of heart murmurs. It's not unusual for a murmur to be noticed during a routine checkup, even if none was heard before. Heart murmurs are rated on a scale from 1 to 6 based on how loud they are.
Grade 1 is very soft, whereas grade 6 is very loud. If a murmur is found, the doctor may refer a child to a pediatric cardiologist for further evaluation. The most common type of heart murmur is called functional or innocent. An innocent heart murmur is the sound of blood moving through a normal, healthy heart in a normal way. Just as you might hear air moving through an air duct or water flowing through a pipe, doctors can hear blood moving through the heart even when there's no heart problem.
An innocent heart murmur can come and go throughout childhood. Kids with these murmurs don't need a special diet, restriction of activities, or any other special treatment. Those old enough to understand that they have a heart murmur should be reassured that they aren't any different from other kids.
Some murmurs can indicate a problem with the heart. In these cases, doctors will have a child see a pediatric cardiologist. The cardiologist will order tests such as:. About 1 out of every babies is born with a structural heart problem, or congenital heart defect. Your time with your doctor is limited, so preparing a list of questions can help you make the most of your time together.
For heart murmurs, some basic questions to ask your doctor include:. Your doctor is likely to ask you a number of questions. Being ready to answer them may reserve time to go over any points you want to spend more time on. Your doctor may ask:. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products.
Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Diagnosis Heart murmurs are usually detected when your doctor listens to your heart using a stethoscope during a physical exam. To check whether the murmur is innocent or abnormal, your doctor will consider the following: How loud is it?
This is rated on a scale from 1 to 6, with 6 being the loudest. Where in your heart is it? And can it be heard in your neck or back? What pitch is it? Is it high-, medium- or low-pitched?
What affects the sound? Does exercising or changing body position affect the sound? When does it occur, and for how long? A murmur that happens when the heart is filling with blood diastolic murmur or throughout the heartbeat continuous murmur may signal a heart problem.
Tests need to be done to find the cause. A murmur that occurs when the heart is emptying systolic murmur generally is an innocent heart murmur. The valves in the heart let the blood flow from chamber to chamber from the atrium to the ventricle. Sometimes there are problems with these valves. Disorders with the heart muscle. These problems called cardiomyopathy can make the muscle of the heart too thick or too weak. How is a heart murmur diagnosed? Can a heart murmur be prevented or avoided?
Heart murmur treatment. What if my child has an innocent heart murmur? Living with a heart murmur. If you have a murmur along with any of the following symptoms, see your doctor: You are very tired. You have trouble exercising or being physically active. You have chest pain. If your child has a heart murmur and any of these symptoms, call your doctor: Rapid breathing.
Difficulty feeding. Blue tint to the lips. These could be signs of a more serious heart problem. Questions to ask your doctor. What kind of heart murmur do I or my child have? Is this kind of murmur indicative of other health problems? Do I or my child need tests or need to visit a cardiologist?
What kind of treatment will I or my child need? Is it safe for my child to play and exercise like normal? Last Updated: April 13, This article was contributed by: familydoctor.
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