What is a Heart Murmur?

Contrary to popular belief, heart murmurs for the most part are actually innocent. Most of the time, heart murmurs are caused by blood that is flowing through healthy valves in a healthy heart and they do not require treatment. However, heart murmurs can be bad, too. They can give you signs that there is some blow flowing through damaged or overworked heart valves. Heart murmurs can actually be present when someone is born or they could be the result of other illnesses such as heart disease, heart attacks, rheumatic fever or infective endocarditis.

In most cases, heart murmurs are spotted whenever going to the Doctor for the purpose of a physical examination. While listening through the stethoscope, a Doctor will most likely be able to hear your heart murmur. In order to determine whether or not your heart murmur is bad or good, they may order one of the following tests:

Electrocardiogram (ECG) which will be able to measure the electrical activity of your heart.

X-rays of your chest in order to see if the heart is enlarged due to heart disease or valve disease.

Echocardiography, which will employ sound waves that will be able to map out the structure of your heart.

If you have a heart murmur and you begin to suffer from the following symptoms, you should contact your doctor immediately:

Chest pain

Breathlessness

Fatigue

Fainting

Heart palpitations

Category: Heart Health Tips