Can a heart murmur go away on its own?
The good news is that many heart murmurs aren’t dangerous. In fact, many heart murmurs go away on their own over a few months or years. Whether you need treatment for your heart murmur will depend on what type of murmur you have.
How does one get rid of a heart murmur?
How do you get rid of a heart murmur? Heart Murmur Treatment. Surgeries for heart murmurs often include valve repair and valve replacement. These surgeries treat the underlying valve problems in your heart that are causing the murmur.
How dangerous are heart murmurs?
What causes heart murmurs in infants, children, and adults?
- Functional heart murmur. Many heart murmurs are harmless and referred to as innocent or functional. ...
- Congenital heart murmurs in newborns. Congenital heart murmurs are heard in the newborn. ...
- Heart valve abnormalities. Abnormalities of the valves of the heart may cause a heart murmur. ...
Is there a cure for heart murmur?
Treatment depends on the heart condition causing the murmur and may include medications or surgery. The medication your doctor prescribes depends on the specific heart problem you have. Some medications your doctor might give you include: Blood thinners (anticoagulants).
Can a heart murmur repair itself?
Innocent heart murmurs may go away over time. Sometimes, heart murmurs continue for life without causing serious health problems.
What fixes a heart murmur?
Surgeries for heart murmurs often include valve repair and valve replacement. These surgeries treat the underlying valve problems in your heart that are causing the murmur. If you do need surgery, your cardiothoracic surgeon will try to make sure your surgery is as minimally invasive as possible.
Can you live a long life with a heart murmur?
Living with a heart murmur 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.
Is a heart murmur something to worry about?
One of the most common “abnormal” behaviors is the heart murmur. A heart murmur is a sound often characterized as a “whooshing” or rushing of fluid that can be heard between heartbeats. However, as frightening as this may seem, a heart murmur is not always a bad thing and in many cases is completely normal.
Do heart murmurs get worse with age?
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.
Can you exercise with a heart murmur?
If you have a heart murmur, you can still exercise using a heart rate sensor, but you will need to take some extra steps to protect your cardiovascular health.
What happens if a heart murmur goes untreated?
If they narrow, which doctors call stenosis, your heart has to work harder to pump blood to the rest of your body. If left untreated, it can wear out your heart and lead to heart failure. You might be born with this. It can also happen as part of aging, or because of scarring from infections such as rheumatic fever.
Can 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.
Can heart murmur lead to death?
“An untreated heart murmur over time can damage the heart which can lead to serious health issues and death,” warns Dr.
What is the most common cause of a heart murmur?
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.
Can stress cause heart murmurs?
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.
Does heart murmur affect sleep?
Trouble sleeping, a sore joint, occasional headaches…
What is the best medicine for heart murmur?
They prevent you from retaining too much water in your body. Angiotensis-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. These medications lower blood pressure, and by doing so, can improve your heart murmur.
What is a heart murmur?
Heart murmurs are unusual sounds that the blood makes as it is pumped through your heart that can be heard through a stethoscope by a medical professional. Experts note that if you have a heart murmur, it's important that you follow the treatment plan prescribed by your doctor to avoid any serious health complications.
What causes a murmur in the heart?
Valve problems. If the valves don’t allow enough blood to flow through or leak, it may cause a murmur. Valve calcification.
What are the best medications to prevent a heart attack?
Anticoagulants. These medications reduce blood clots. They reduce the likelihood that a blood clot will form in your heart or brain causing a heart attack or stroke. Common medications include aspirin, warfarin (Coumadin, Jantoven) and clopidogrel (Plavix).
What to do if you have a heart attack?
Call emergency medical responders immediately if you are having a heart attack. If you are having a heart attack, every minute counts. Some of the symptoms of an abnormal heart murmur are similar to those of a heart attack. If you are unsure, you should err on the side of caution and call emergency medical responders .
What is the test used to determine if your heart is enlarged?
This exam uses X-rays to create an image of your heart and nearby organs. It would show if the heart is enlarged. An electrocardiogram (ECG). During this test the doctor puts electrodes on the outside of your body to measure the electrical signals of your heartbeat.
When does a murmur occur?
The location of the murmur. When the murmur occurs during the heartbeat. If it occurs when blood is entering your heart or during the entire heartbeat, that is more likely to be serious. Whether you have a genetic predisposition to heart conditions.
What is the best medicine for heart murmurs?
Some common medications used to treat heart murmurs include the following: statins —medications that lower your cholesterol. beta blockers or ACE inhibitors —medications that lower your blood pressure. aspirin or warfarin —these medications are anti-coagulants because they help prevent blood clots from forming.
How long does it take for a heart murmur to go away?
In fact, many heart murmurs go away on their own over a few months or years. Whether you need treatment for your heart murmur will depend on what type of murmur you have. Even if you need treatment, your heart doctor (cardiologist) will work with you to decide what treatment is best and least invasive.
What doctor will evaluate a heart murmur?
At University of Utah Health, a heart team that includes a cardiologist and a cardiothoracic surgeon will evaluate your heart murmur.
What does it mean when your mitral valve is narrowed?
Mitral stenosis: this is when your mitral valve becomes narrowed, making it harder for blood to flow from your left atrium to your left ventricle.
What happens when blood leaks backwards through the mitral valve?
If it’s not treated, mitral regurgitation can cause heart failure. Aortic insufficiency: this happens when blood leaks backward through your aortic valve in between heartbeats.
What causes an aortic root aneurysm?
Many conditions, including genetic disorders like Marfan Syndrome, can cause aortic root aneurysms . Cardiologists and surgeons who specialize in treating aortic disease can evaluate and manage this type of aneurysm. Mitral regurgitation happens when blood leaks backward through your mitral valve when your heart beats.
What percentage of people have a heart murmur?
Heart murmurs are very common: 10 percent of adults will have a heart murmur. 40—45 percent of children have a heart murmur. Most children with murmurs have a congenital heart murmur, meaning they were born with it.
What to do if your heart murmurs?
Depending upon the cause of your heart murmur, your doctor may suggest one or more of the following lifestyle changes: exercising, reducing salt intake, limiting alcohol, quitting smoking or losing weight.
What is a TAVR catheter?
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) uses a catheter to replace the aortic valve in select patients with severe aortic stenosis (narrowing of the aortic valve opening) who can’t tolerate, or are high-risk candidates for, open heart surgery.
What causes a murmur in the heart?
Causes of heart murmurs. Valvular heart disease is the most common cause of a heart murmur. Valve stenosis – a narrow, tight, stiff valve, limiting forward flow of blood. Valve regurgitation – a valve that does not close completely, allowing backward flow (a "leaky" valve). The abnormal changes to the valve cause the abnormal heart sound (murmur).
What is the sound of the heart?
The doctor listens to your heart at different places on your chest to hear the sounds your heart valves make as blood travels through your heart. Normally, the heart beat has two sounds – lub-dub. The first sound is heard as the mitral and tricuspid valves close. The second heart sound is the aortic and pulmonic valves snapping shut.
How to tell if a heart murmur is serious?
To determine whether or not a heart murmur is a sign of a more serious condition, a doctor will use a stethoscope to listen to the murmur’s loudness, pitch, location and timing. He or she will also check to see when the murmur, like if it happens when the heart is filling with blood or emptying, and how certain actions, like breathing and physical activity, affect the sound of the murmur.
What is a murmur in the heart?
A heart murmur occurs when there’s turbulent movement of blood through the heart chambers and blood vessels, anatomical changes to the heart muscle and valves, or a narrowing of blood vessels. ( 3)
What is the sound of a heart murmur?
A heart murmur is an extra or unusual sound that’s heard between heartbeats. Your heartbeat makes a “lub-dupp” or “lub-dub” sound when the valves close and blood moves through the heart. A heart murmur is another type of sound, usually a whooshing or swishing noise, that can range from very faint to loud.
What are the two types of heart murmurs?
There are two types of heart murmurs: innocent and abnormal. A harmless or innocent heart murmur usually won’t cause any symptoms, aside from the unusual sound that’s detected with a stethoscope.
What is the best way to improve heart health?
When you’re talking about natural tips for heart health, the most important thing you can do is eat a diet full of heart-healthy foods. What you eat directly influences the health of your heart and helps to reduce the risk of heart complications, including heart valve disorders.
How to stop heart disease?
To stave off heart disease, ditch the refined carbs, which are used to make processed and packaged foods like cookies, crackers, chips and muffins, skip the soda and other sweetened beverages, cut out foods that are high in trans fats (like margarine) and avoid processed meats. 2. Stay Active.
How does exercise help your heart?
It’s important to stay active by adding some sort of physical activity into your daily routine. Exercise reduces chronic disease, and it specifically helps to promote heart health by lowering high blood pressure, increasing HDL cholesterol and improving blood circulation. ( 12)
What is the sound of a heart murmur?
Heart murmurs are sounds — such as whooshing or swishing — made by turbulent blood in or near your heart. Your doctor can hear these sounds with a stethoscope. A normal heartbeat makes two sounds like "lubb-dupp" (sometimes described as "lub-DUP") when your heart valves are closing.
How do you know if you have a heart murmur?
An abnormal heart murmur may cause the following signs and symptoms, depending on the cause of the murmur: Skin that appears blue, especially on your fingertips and lips. Swelling or sudden weight gain. Shortness of breath.
What causes a heart murmur in older children?
In older children and adults, causes of abnormal heart murmurs include infections and conditions that damage the structures of the heart.
Why do children murmur?
In children, abnormal murmurs are usually caused by structural problems of the heart (congenital heart defects). Common congenital defects that cause heart murmurs include: Holes in the heart. Known as septal defects, holes in the heart may or may not be serious, depending on the size of the hole and its location. Cardiac shunts.
Can a heart murmur go away?
While there's not much you can do to prevent a heart murmur, it is reassuring to know that heart murmurs are not a disease and are often harmless. For children, many murmurs go away on their own as children grow. For adults, murmurs may disappear as the underlying condition causing them improves.
Is a heart murmur a sign of heart disease?
An innocent heart murmur is not a sign of heart disease and doesn't need treatment. Abnormal heart murmurs require follow-up testing to determine the cause. Treatment is directed at the cause of your abnormal heart murmur.
Can endocarditis damage the heart?
This infection of the inner lining of your heart and valves typically occurs when bacteria or other germs from another part of your body, such as your mouth, spread through your bloodstream and get stuck in your heart. Left untreated, endocarditis can damage or destroy your heart valves.
Follow up with your healthcare provider as directed
You may be referred to a cardiologist. Write down your questions so you remember to ask them during your visits.
Return to your usual activities as directed
You may be able to return to sports or other usual activities. Ask your healthcare provider if you have any restrictions.
Further information
Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.
What can I expect at my child's visit to the pediatric cardiologist?
Your child will meet a medical assistant or nurse who will take your child’s vital signs (heart rate, oxygen levels, height and weight).
Will my child need follow-up care or treatment for a heart murmur?
If your child’s heart murmur is found to be an innocent murmur, they will not need follow-up care or treatment.
Appointments and Referrals
Request an appointment or second opinion, refer a patient, find a doctor or view test results with MGHfC's secure online services.
Why do I have a murmur?
Other causes. Non-innocent (or abnormal) heart murmurs are often caused by defective heart valves. For example, a stenotic heart valve has a smaller-than-normal opening and can’t open completely. Or a valve may also be unable to close completely.
What is a murmur that occurs when the heart muscle relaxes between beats called?
A murmur that occurs when the heart muscle relaxes between beats is called a diastolic murmur. A systolic murmur occurs when the heart muscle contracts. Systolic murmurs are graded by intensity (loudness) from 1 to 6. A grade 1 is faint, heard only with a special effort. It's softer than the normal heart sounds.
What is it called when a child's heart rate changes?
These heart murmurs are also called “normal” or “physiological” murmurs. Innocent heart murmurs are so common that most children are likely to have one at some time. Innocent murmurs may disappear and then reappear. When a child’s heart rate changes, such as during excitement or fear, these innocent murmurs may become louder or softer.
Why do I have murmurs when I close my valve?
This leads to regurgitation, which is blood leaking backward through the valve when it should be closed. Certain congenital defects and other conditions such as pregnancy, fever, anemia or thyrotoxicosis (a condition caused by an overactive thyroid gland) can also cause murmurs.
What is an innocent heart murmur?
Innocent heart murmurs are sounds made by blood circulating through the heart’s chambers and valves, or through blood vessels near the heart. Innocent murmurs are common in children and are harmless. These heart murmurs are also called “normal” or “physiological” murmurs.
Can a child have a heart murmur?
With an innocent heart murmur, your child won’t need medication, and doesn't have a heart problem or heart disease. You will not need to restrict your child’s activities or diet. They can lead an active, healthy life! Most innocent murmurs disappear when a child reaches adulthood, but in some adults the murmur remains for life.
