If you or your child has an innocent heart murmur, you can live a completely normal life. It will not cause you any problems and is not a sign of an issue with your heart. If you have a murmur along with any of the following symptoms, see your doctor: You are very tired.
What does a heart murmur feel like?
A typical heart murmur sounds like a whooshing noise. According to the American Heart Association, it usually feels like a very subtle extra pulse. Heart murmurs are common, especially among young children.
Can a heart murmur cause a stroke?
Heart Murmur Complications
Abnormal heart murmurs themselves don’t cause complications, but underlying conditions may cause serious complications such as heart attack or stroke, heart failure, poor growth (in infants and children) and other serious issues.
Is heart murmur high risk for Covid?
If you have an innocent heart murmur, it does not increase your risk from coronavirus. Sometimes, heart murmurs are caused by a problem with one of the heart valves. If you have heart valve disease (for example, a leaky or narrowed valve) you are at higher risk from coronavirus – more detail on this is below.
Does having a heart murmur make you tired?
People with an abnormal heart murmur may have symptoms of the problem causing the murmur. Symptoms can include: Feeling weak or tired. Shortness of breath, especially with exercise.
Do heart murmurs get worse with age?
If you have gone through treatment to replace or repair a heart valve, your murmur may change sound or go away completely. Likewise, murmurs can get worse if a condition goes untreated or becomes more serious. Your heart is unique, and some heart murmurs can change over time.
When should I be concerned about a heart murmur?
When to see a doctor
Most heart murmurs aren’t serious, but if you think you or your child has a heart murmur, make an appointment to see your family doctor. Your doctor can tell you if the heart murmur is innocent and doesn’t require any further treatment or if an underlying heart problem needs to be further examined.
Does your heart hurt when you have a heart murmur?
Most heart murmurs in well-developed children are harmless. In adults, heart abnormalities may cause chest pain, and heart failure with symptoms of shortness of breath and swelling of the extremities. Palpitations or a sensation of an irregular heartbeat are occasionally seen in people with heart valve abnormalities.
What percent of heart murmurs are harmless?
If you have been told you have a heart murmur, it is more than likely an innocent murmur, or completely harmless. “About 10 percent of adults and 30 percent of children (most between the ages of 3 and 7) have a harmless murmur,” says Dr. Agrawal. “The key is to find the harmful murmurs.
What is a heart murmur caused by?
A heart murmur is an extra noise heard during a heartbeat. The noise is caused when blood does not flow smoothly through the heart. Heart murmurs can be innocent (harmless) or abnormal (caused by a heart problem). Some causes are fever, anemia, or heart valve disease.
What is the treatment for heart murmur?
Surgery may be needed to correct a damaged or leaky valve that causes a heart murmur. Depending on your heart condition, your doctor may recommend one of several heart valve treatment options.
Does heart murmur cause death?
If left untreated, heart murmurs can put tremendous stress on the heart leading to heart failure, arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death.
Can you exercise with a heart murmur?
If you do have a pathological heart murmur, your doctor will let you know if you need treatment (not all require treatment), and how the condition may or may not affect your day-to-day activities, including sports participation. “In most cases, people with murmurs have no symptoms,” says Dr. Singh.
Can stress cause a heart murmur?
Stress and anxiety can cause a heart murmur that’s considered a physiologic heart murmur. However, it’s more likely that a heart murmur would be caused by an underlying heart condition, anemia, or hyperthyroidism.
Is a heart murmur worrisome?
Is a heart murmur dangerous? It’s a very common misconception that heart murmurs are dangerous. The truth is that the murmur is just a sound. However, these sounds can be very reliable signals for dangerous conditions.
What age does a heart murmur go away?
Most normal heart murmurs eventually disappear by mid-adolescence. Your child won’t need treatment or special restrictions on his/her diet or activities. He or she can be as active as any other normal, healthy child. Rarely, a murmur will sound abnormal enough to indicate a possible problem with the heart.
Can you see a heart murmur on an echocardiogram?
The echocardiogram will look at underlying structure and function of the heart and will typically answer the question of murmur significance.
Can dehydration cause a heart murmur?
A heart murmur can show up at any time in a child’s life. And just because it wasn’t heard before doesn’t mean something bad has happened or is happening. Anemia can cause murmurs. Dehydration can.
Can heart murmur cause dizziness?
Share on Pinterest A person with an abnormal heart murmur may experience dizziness. People with heart murmurs may not experience any symptoms. Others, specifically with abnormal heart murmurs, may experience symptoms depending on the underlying cause.
Does caffeine affect heart murmur?
Caffeine intake is not a problem for people with heart murmurs. Physicians hear heart murmurs so often that we can forget that the term can be concerning to people who are just hearing they have one and suspect it means a serious heart problem, which it usually does not. Dr.
Can you hear a heart murmur without a stethoscope?
Grade I murmurs may not be audible to the inexperienced examiner; however, grade 6 murmurs are heard even without the stethoscope on the chest and may actually be visible. Diastolic murmurs are graded on a scale of 4.
What if my echocardiogram is abnormal?
Abnormal echocardiogram results help doctors determine if further testing is necessary or if you need to be placed on a treatment plan. When it comes to your heart, there is no room for taking risks. If you experience any symptoms associated with your heart, it’s best to see a doctor and get tested.
How long can you live with leaky heart valve?
O’HAIR: Researchers have discovered that most individuals with a mild leak in the valve are still alive five years after diagnosis. However, for those with a severe leak that goes untreated, survival drops way off, hovering around 60 percent surviving at five years.