Find out what a heart murmur is and how it's diagnosed. When a doctor listens to your heart through a stethoscope, they will be able to hear the regular sounds of the blood flowing through your heart's valves. If the sound is unusual or doesn't follow the regular pattern, it is called a heart murmur.
Many heart murmurs are harmless — this is called an "innocent heart murmur". Sometimes, however, murmurs can be a sign of a problem with your heart, which may need to be checked by a healthcare professional. Many cases will be innocent, but some heart murmurs are caused by a problem with the heart valves.
The passage of blood inside the heart or vessels may be blocked, or the blood travels abnormally through the heart valves, or the heart itself may be underdeveloped. Mitral regurgitation - the mitral valve separates the left atrium from the left ventricle. Some of the causes of mitral regurgitation include rheumatic heart disease, infection endocarditis of the mitral valve, hypertension high blood pressure and congenital defects of the heart. Aortic regurgitation - the aortic valve separates the aorta main artery of the body from the left ventricle.
Mitral stenosis - the opening of the mitral valve is abnormally narrow, which impedes the passage of blood into the left ventricle. Aortic stenosis - the opening of the aortic valve is abnormally narrow, which impedes the passage of blood into the aorta. Damage to the cardiac muscle - may occur after a heart attack, heart infection such as endocarditis or infection of the valve or as a complication of coronary artery disease or hypertension.
Hyperthyroidism - overactive thyroid gland. Excessive amounts of thyroid hormone affect heart function in a similar way to anaemia. Stress - emotional stress can sometimes interfere with the force of the heartbeat, increasing the blood flow as happens with anaemia and hyperthyroidism.
Innocent heart murmurs are common It is thought that around half of all babies and young children have innocent heart murmurs. Diagnosis methods Diagnosis of the cause of a heart murmur may involve a number of tests including: Medical history Physical examination Chest x-ray Electrocardiograph test ECG Blood tests Echocardiogram a type of ultrasound scan of the heart. Treatment options Treatment depends on the cause but may include: Innocent heart murmurs - no treatment is necessary, as the heart structures and blood flow are normal - just noisy.
Heart surgery - to repair leaking heart valves, or repair the structural abnormalities of congenital heart disorders. This may require open heart surgery. Endocarditis or other infections - antibiotics, and surgery in some cases. Anaemia - can often be treated with iron supplements and changes to diet. Depending on the cause, more serious cases of anaemia may need treatments including blood transfusions or removal of the spleen splenectomy.
Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references What is a heart murmur? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Accessed Sept. Walls RM, et al. Cardiac disorders. Elsevier; Meyer TE. Auscultation of cardiac murmurs in adults. Infective endocarditis IE prophylaxis.
Mayo Clinic; Heart murmurs. American Heart Association. Geggel RL. Approach to the infant or child with a cardiac murmur. Innocent cardiac murmur child. Nishimura RA, et al. The sound is caused by turbulent rough blood flow through the heart valves or near the heart.
Chest sounds - murmurs; Heart sounds - abnormal; Murmur - innocent; Innocent murmur; Systolic heart murmur; Diastolic heart murmur. The heart has valves that close with each heartbeat, causing blood to flow in only one direction.
The valves are located between the chambers. The heart is a four-chambered organ with four main vessels, which either bring blood to or carry blood away from the heart. The four chambers of the heart are the right atrium, the right ventricle, the left atrium, and the left ventricle.
The great vessels of the heart include the superior and inferior vena cava, which bring blood from the body to the right atrium, the pulmonary artery, which transports blood from the right ventricle to the lungs.
The last of the great vessels is the aorta, the body's largest artery, which transports oxygen-rich blood from the left ventricle to the rest of the body. If we remove some of the tough fibrous coating of the heart and great vessels, you can get a better look at the heart beating. If you look carefully, you can see a series of one-way valves that keep the blood flowing in one direction.
If we inject dye into the superior vena cava, you can watch it pass through the heart as it goes through the cardiac cycle. The blood first enters the heart into the right atrium. Blood passes from the right atrium through the tricuspid valve and into the right ventricle. When the right ventricle contracts, the muscular force pushes blood through the pulmonary semilunar valve into the pulmonary artery. The blood then travels to the lungs, where it receives oxygen.
Next, it drains out of the lungs via the pulmonary veins, and travels to the left atrium.
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