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I just want to know what a heart murmur means. Is it an early sign of heart illness?
heart murmur
- Thread starter lazgirl24
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As I understand it, a murmur refers to the sound of turbulent blood flow across the heart. So if a valve is diseased and fails to open or close properly, for example, it can create things like obstruction and regurgitation that lead to irregular heart sounds.
Not all heart murmurs are signs of illness, though. Many children have 'innocent' murmurs that are perfectly benign.
Not all heart murmurs are signs of illness, though. Many children have 'innocent' murmurs that are perfectly benign.
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i just went to the doctor and she said she heard a murmur in mt heart. I am 19 and none of the doctors i went to before said anything about it. I am just wondering because i just found out that my uncle has some kind of heart problem (i don't know exactly what it is but my mom said that his heart enlarges). i didn't tell my doctor that before b/c i didn't know about it.
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The best advice I can give is to ask your doctor.
Many young people have murmurs that are innocent, and although sad, it is a fact that it is not uncommon for doctors to miss murmurs because they didn't take the time to listen. So this may not be a new murmur.
But if your uncle had a "heart condition," and you have a murmur, unless you know what condition your uncle had and know that it is not inherited, IMHO it would probably be a wise idea to get an echocardiogram.
My brother had a murmur and they did an echo. He had no family history. The echo was negative, but it was good to know that it was a benign murmur. He did have a vague history of something about "avoiding exertion" that the doctor at the ICU told our mom when he was born because of something in his heart.
Mitral Valve Prolapse is common and usually does not cause much trouble but it is not totally benign, and requires antibiotic prophylaxis following dental work etc.
As far as your question about what murmurs indicate, honestly there are many answers. A murmur can be an innocent flow murmur, common in atheletes, children, and pregnant women. Most other murmurs indicate valvular damage, i.e. atrial stenosis, mitral regurgitation, mitral stenosis, etc, etc, etc.
But murmurs can also indicate septal defects and heart failure, and the list can go on and on.
So the bottom line is: Because your doctor didn't make any big deal about your murmur, don't be overly concerned. But, in light of your family history, it's probably a good idea to get it checked out.
Hope this helps
Good Luck
Many young people have murmurs that are innocent, and although sad, it is a fact that it is not uncommon for doctors to miss murmurs because they didn't take the time to listen. So this may not be a new murmur.
But if your uncle had a "heart condition," and you have a murmur, unless you know what condition your uncle had and know that it is not inherited, IMHO it would probably be a wise idea to get an echocardiogram.
My brother had a murmur and they did an echo. He had no family history. The echo was negative, but it was good to know that it was a benign murmur. He did have a vague history of something about "avoiding exertion" that the doctor at the ICU told our mom when he was born because of something in his heart.
Mitral Valve Prolapse is common and usually does not cause much trouble but it is not totally benign, and requires antibiotic prophylaxis following dental work etc.
As far as your question about what murmurs indicate, honestly there are many answers. A murmur can be an innocent flow murmur, common in atheletes, children, and pregnant women. Most other murmurs indicate valvular damage, i.e. atrial stenosis, mitral regurgitation, mitral stenosis, etc, etc, etc.
But murmurs can also indicate septal defects and heart failure, and the list can go on and on.
So the bottom line is: Because your doctor didn't make any big deal about your murmur, don't be overly concerned. But, in light of your family history, it's probably a good idea to get it checked out.
Hope this helps
Good Luck
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Yeah, I agree with that advice. Heart murmurs are just the sound of blood moving, and they are found normally in a lot of people, particularly pregnant women. Even though your murmur is probably benign and nothing to worry about, you could always ask your doctor if you could get an echo just to be on the safe side since your grandfather had a heart condition. If your grandfather didn't develop his condition until fairly late in his life, it's probably not even an inheritable disorder. Still, if Iweren't a medical student, I wouldn't trust my doc's ausculation skills.
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mitral valve regurgitation (insufficiency) is NOT a benign condition. I just got out of a cardiac exam lecture with a cardiologist who underscored that disease can lead to problems.
it takes years to develop any problems, but eventually they may need their valve replaced.
As he said........."mitral regurg begets mitral regurg begets mitral regurg."
Once you get a little then you get more and more and more eventually you wear your heart out due to an increased ejection fraction.
just fyi I JUST learned.
later
it takes years to develop any problems, but eventually they may need their valve replaced.
As he said........."mitral regurg begets mitral regurg begets mitral regurg."
Once you get a little then you get more and more and more eventually you wear your heart out due to an increased ejection fraction.
just fyi I JUST learned.
later
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I'm not sure anyone said MR is a benign condition. Posters have talked about the prevalence of MVP, which can be benign, but also have other sequelae...
Q, DO
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