Heart Murmur

Finding out you or a loved one has a heart murmur can be frightening. Anything that causes heart complications is frightening. A heart murmur is an extra or unusual sound heard during your heartbeat. Although heart murmurs are common and need to be taken seriously, they are often quite harmless. Heart murmurs are most common in healthy children who can possibly out grow the symptom. With normal tests, doctors can find out the cause of a heart murmer and help with the problem. There are many alternate excersise activities that an adult or child can with a heart murmur can preform, but people with heart murmurs need to follow percice instructions so they don't cause further complications. A heart murmur is not a disease. A heart murmur is a sound that your doctor hears with a stethoscope. Most heart murmurs are innocent: They are caused by blood flowing through healthy valves in a healthy heart, and do not require treatment. However, heart murmurs can be caused by blood flowing through a damaged or overworked heart valve. Heart-valve defects may be present at birth or heart-valve disease may result from other illnesses, such as rheumatic fever, heart disease, heart attacks, or infective endocarditis. It may be normal, or it could be a sign that possibly something can be wrong. Most heart murmurs are harmless. Some are signs of heart problems, especially if other signs or symptoms of a heart problem are present (webMd 1). Many people with heart murmurs experience no symptoms. However, some murmurs can occur in conjunction with these other symptoms: Some symptoms of heart murmurs are chest pains, rapid heart beats, breathlessness, and fatigue (webMd 1). Treatment for heart murmur depends on the cause. Many children and adults have innocent heart murmurs, which do not indicate disease and require no treatment. Sometimes, mitral valve prolapse requires no treatment, just periodic checkups by your doctor(webMd 1). When other conditions, such as high blood pressure, cause heart murmurs, your doctor will treat the underlying cause. Some types of valve disease may require medication or surgery. Heart murmurs cannot be prevented except in cases where an underlying condition, such as high blood pressure, may be detected and treated before heart murmur develops.