Lubb-dupp. Lubb-dupp. Those are the words that health care professionals often use to mimic the sound of your heartbeat. That steady, regular sound is made by your heart valves opening and closing as blood circulates through your heart.
You may have heard the term “heart murmur.” A murmur is an extra heart sound that can be heard by a stethoscope. Sometimes, the murmur sounds like a humming, which can be faint or loud. It might be temporary or persistent. Heart murmurs may be present at birth or develop later in life during pregnancy, phases of rapid growth like adolescence or from a fever or anemia.
The murmur may disappear as quickly as it comes if it has a temporary cause. However, a murmur also could be persistent and loud, easily heard and sound like a churning mill wheel or cooing seagull. This might indicate a serious heart problem.
What causes a heart murmur?
Multiple factors can cause a murmur. It could be a heart valve problem or a hole in the heart.
The valves in your heart act as doors between the chambers, or rooms, of the heart. In the case of a murmur, a valve may be tight or leaky. When heart valves are very tight or narrow, this is called stenosis. A murmur also might be from a leaky valve, called regurgitation.
A murmur also may occur from high blood flow in people with a fever or with low red blood cells, called anemia.
Some people have a family history of heart murmur and heart disease. Some are born with a congenital condition causing a murmur. Others have had a recent severe infection or illness that could damage a heart valve and need immediate medical attention.
What are the symptoms?
Innocent or harmless heart murmurs don’t typically cause symptoms, and most aren’t serious.
Symptoms of a serious or worrisome heart murmur depend on the cause and require evaluation by a health care professional. These symptoms may include:
— Blue or gray lips or fingernails
— Chest…
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