Heart murmurs are sounds, such as whooshing or swishing, made by rapid, choppy blood flow through the heart. The sounds can be heard with a device called a stethoscope and are different from those of a normal heartbeat.
Heart murmurs can be present at birth or develop later in life. Some heart murmurs, called innocent hurt murmurs, are harmless. An innocent heart murmur is not a sign of heart disease and doesn’t need treatment. Other heart murmurs may be a sign of a serious heart condition.
Symptoms
Innocent heart murmurs usually don’t cause any other symptoms.
Symptoms of worrisome heart murmurs depend on the cause and can include:
— Blue or gray fingernails or lips
— Chest pain
— Cough that doesn’t go away
— Dizziness
— Swollen liver
— Swollen neck veins
— Fainting
— Heavy sweating with little or no activity
— Shortness of breath
— Swelling or sudden weight gain
— In infants, poor appetite and lack of growth
Risk factors
Things that increase the risk of heart murmurs in babies include:
— Family history of heart problems linked to murmurs
— Uncontrolled diabetes in the mother during pregnancy
— German measles, or rubella, in the mother during pregnancy
— Use of certain medications, alcohol or illegal drugs by the mother during pregnancy
Some medical conditions that can increase the risk of heart murmurs include:
— A rare cancerous tumor that releases certain chemicals into the bloodstream, known as carcinoid syndrome
— Cardiomyopathy, which is a weakened heart muscle
— Endocarditis, which is an infection of the lining of the heart
— Anemia
— Hypereosinophilic syndrome, which is a group of blood disorders marked by a high number of eosinophils — white blood cells that play an important role in your immune system
— Certain autoimmune disorders, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis
— Heart valve disease
— Pulmonary hypertension, which is high blood…
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