Heart Murmor

[makistein]

My Daughter is 13 going on 14 and she's had stomach issues like constipation when she was little and it's been a few years since she's had that problem and now her doctor wants to send her to a Cardiologist for an echocardiogram . Because they have detected a heart murmur before and now want to make sure everything is working ok ..she complains of chest pains at time and that it is hard to catch her breath for a little bit ..is this normal for a heart murmur?? I am scared for her and she's scared too i am glad we are getting this checked out but should we be overly scared?? My young son has been detected with a murmur also is this hereditary ?? Thanks

[cmac66]

Many people have murmurs and never know it until a routine check up. They never have problems. Other people do have dizziness, fainting spells, shortness of breath due to temporary low oxygen being circulated (skipping beats) For the same reason it can cause chest pain. It depends on the cause of the murmur from nothing serious to a hole that didnt close at birth or incompetent or diseased valve . i would definitely take her to the cardiologist and find out

[Ger57]

Do not get overly scared. A heart murmur is present in many people and often without any complications throughout their whole life.

Murmur comes from an abnormal blood flow in the heart.
An innocent murmur can be heard from a fast blood flow (from exercising, fever, anemia etc).
An abnormal murmur can be heard from i.e. valve abnormalities. In these cases the blood flows in abnormal directions or with abnormal speed, causing the murmur sounds.
Often, even abnormal murmurs do not progress and require no treatment at all. Some more severe cases are monitored only (an echo once/ 2 years) and in very severe cases treatment might be necessary.

Valve abnormalities and other heart abnormalities that cause murmur can be congenital, so yes, it is possible that your son's murmur has the same cause.

With a stethoscope, a murmur can be easily heard, and a cardiologist can probably in many cases already pinpoint the cause, but the best way to find the cause and the extend is with an echo.