If there is turbulence, or disturbance, in the flow of blood through the heart or major blood vessels around the heart, a murmur may be heard. Our pediatrician heard a murmur in our child and has recommended that we see a pediatric cardiologist. What happens next? Most murmurs can be categorized into one of the above two categories with a careful evaluation by a pediatric cardiologist. The physician will ask a number of questions about your child's growth, development, frequency of illnesses, and family history of heart disease.
The physician will perform a thorough examination of your child, including careful listening to the heart with a stethoscope. Usually the pediatric cardiologist will obtain an electrocardiogram test that records the heart's electrical activity -- also called an ECG or EKG as part of the evaluation of a heart murmur. There are many characteristic sounds the heart can generate which will almost always allow characterization of a murmur as "innocent" or not.
Occasionally, it can be difficult to characterize a heart murmur on the basis of a physical examination and electrocardiogram. In these cases, an ultrasound of the heart, called an echocardiogram , may be performed to look at the structure of the heart in detail. We have been told that our child has an innocent murmur. Could this become a problem as he or she grows up?
Innocent heart murmurs do not make the child more likely to have heart attacks or high blood pressure later in life.
Your child's physical activities should not be restricted because of the heart murmur. Just as you might hear air moving through an air duct or water flowing through a pipe, doctors can hear blood moving through the heart even when there's no heart problem. An innocent heart murmur can come and go throughout childhood.
Kids with these murmurs don't need a special diet, restriction of activities, or any other special treatment. Those old enough to understand that they have a heart murmur should be reassured that they aren't any different from other kids. Some murmurs can indicate a problem with the heart.
In these cases, doctors will have a child see a pediatric cardiologist. The cardiologist will order tests such as:. About 1 out of every babies is born with a structural heart problem, or congenital heart defect.
These babies may show signs of the defect as early as the first few days of life or not until later in childhood. Some kids won't have any symptoms beyond a heart murmur, while others will such signs as:. Pregnant women have a higher risk of having a baby with a heart defect if they get rubella German measles , have poorly controlled diabetes, or have PKU phenylketonuria, a genetic error of the body's metabolism.
Your doctor and a pediatric cardiologist can determine if the murmur is innocent which means your child is perfectly healthy or if there is a specific heart problem. If there is a problem, the pediatric cardiologist will know how best to take care of it. Reviewed by: Steven B. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. What Are Heart Murmurs? What Happens in a Heart Murmur? Who Gets Heart Murmurs? How Are Heart Murmurs Diagnosed? They vary depending on the problem. The symptoms of heart murmur can be like other health conditions.
Have your child see his or her healthcare provider for a diagnosis. He or she will do a physical exam on your child. During an exam, the provider will listen to your child's heart with a stethoscope. If the provider hears an abnormal sound, he or she may refer you to a pediatric cardiologist. This is a doctor with special training to treat children with heart problems. Tests include:. Electrocardiogram ECG. This test that measures the electrical activity of the heart.
Echocardiography echo. An exam that uses sound waves ultrasound to look at the structure and function of the heart. This is the most important test to find heart murmurs.
0コメント