Can you live a normal life with a heart murmur?

Living with a heart murmur If you or your child has an innocent heartmurmur, you can live a completely normal life. Itwill not cause you any problems and is not a sign ofan issue with your heart.

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Then, how serious is a heart murmur?

A heart murmur isn't a disease — butmurmurs may indicate an underlying heart problem.Often, heart murmurs are harmless (innocent) and don't needtreatment. Some heart murmurs may require follow-up tests tobe sure the murmur isn't caused by a seriousunderlying heart condition.

Subsequently, question is, how is a heart murmur treated? A heart murmur itself does not requiretreatment. If it is caused by a more serious heartcondition, your doctor may recommend treatment for thatheart condition. Treatment may include medicines,cardiac catheterization, or surgery.

Also to know, can you die from a heart murmur?

No, and neither will it cause a heart attack. Thatbeing said, the underlying cause of, or contributing factor to, aheart murmur might be an underlying risk factor for, orcontributing factor to, the development of a heartattack.

Can anxiety cause a heart murmur?

When an innocent heart murmur is triggered byfever, anxiety or exertion, it can disappear afterthe condition that triggered it goes away. Murmurs caused byvalve problems or congenital heart problems usually lastthroughout life, and in some cases, they can worsen overtime.

Related Question Answers

Does a heart murmur make you tired?

People with an abnormal heart murmur may havesymptoms of the problem causing the murmur. Symptoms caninclude: Feeling weak or tired. Shortness of breath,especially with exercise.

How can you tell if you have a heart murmur?

What Are the Signs of a Heart Murmur?

1. Bluish skin color, especially on the fingers or lips.
2. Chest pain.
3. Dizziness or fainting.
4. Excessive sweating unrelated to temperature or exercise.
5. Poor eating and abnormal growth in children, especially ininfants with congenital valve disease.
6. Shortness of breath during exertion.

How do you detect a heart murmur?

Heart murmurs are usually detected when yourdoctor listens to your heart using a stethoscope during aphysical exam. To check whether the murmur isinnocent or abnormal, your doctor will consider: How loud is it?This is rated on a scale from 1 to 6, with 6 being theloudest.

What is a Grade 2 heart murmur?

Murmurs are classified ("graded") depending onhow loud the murmur sounds with a stethoscope. (This meansthe murmur is grade 2 on a scale of 1 to 6). Inaddition, a murmur is described by the stage of theheartbeat when the murmur is heard. A heart murmurmay be described as systolic or diastolic.

Is a heart murmur something to worry about?

Heart murmurs in young people are often the firsttype of murmur—a "flow murmur" in which thechambers and valves are normal, but the blood flow still makes anaudible sound. These murmurs can become louder with a fasterheart rate, a fever, or anemia. The good news: they do notlead to any future heart problems.

Are heart murmurs genetic?

The risk for valve calcification increases with age.People who have rheumatic fever as children are more likely to haveheart valve abnormalities in adulthood. Some causes forheart murmurs (e.g., cardiac myxoma, hypertrophiccardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease) havegenetic (hereditary) risk factors.

What does a heart flutter feel like?

You may be experiencing heart palpitations, whichcan feel like your heart is beating too fast, pumpingtoo hard, or fluttering. Usually lasting only a few seconds,they can also be felt in your throat, neck, or chest. Lotsof things can trigger heart palpitations, likeanxiety, medications, or strenuous exercise.

Is a heart murmur painful?

Generally, it doesn't cause symptoms, and can't be heardby the person with the murmur. Most heart murmurs inwell-developed children are harmless. In adults, heartabnormalities may cause chest pain, and heart failurewith symptoms of shortness of breath and swelling of theextremities.

Can you grow out of a heart murmur?

It can be scary to learn that you or yourchild has a heart murmur. However, heart murmurs arequite common and are often harmless. They occur in many healthychildren, who may or may not outgrow them asadults.

What causes heart murmur in older adults?

They may be caused by heart disease. Theheart muscle cells degenerate slightly. The valves insidethe heart, which control the direction of blood flow,thicken and become stiffer. A heart murmur caused by valvestiffness is fairly common in older people.

What should a heartbeat sound like?

In healthy adults, there are two normal heartsounds, often described as a lub and a dub (or dup), thatoccur in sequence with each heartbeat. In addition to thesenormal sounds, a variety of other sounds may bepresent including heart murmurs, adventitious sounds, andgallop rhythms S₃ and S₄.

Can an innocent heart murmur get worse?

Most innocent murmurs disappear when a childreaches adulthood, but some adults still have them. When achild's heart rate changes, such as during excitement orfear, the innocent murmurs may become louder orsofter. This still doesn't indicate that the murmur isabnormal or dangerous.

How do you know if your heart is weak?

Heart failure signs and symptoms may include:

• Shortness of breath (dyspnea) when you exert yourself or whenyou lie down.
• Fatigue and weakness.
• Swelling (edema) in your legs, ankles and feet.
• Rapid or irregular heartbeat.
• Reduced ability to exercise.
• Persistent cough or wheezing with white or pink blood-tingedphlegm.

Can a heart murmur cause high blood pressure?

In other cases, a heart defect, such as a hole inone of the heart's walls, can cause a murmur.Conditions such as pregnancy, anemia, high blood pressure,fever, or an overactive thyroid gland may also cause aheart murmur that comes and goes.

What is a flow murmur?

The heart is a muscular organ with four chambers. Aheart murmur in children caused by turbulent bloodflow can be either normal or abnormal: In normal heartmurmurs, the flow can be heard pumping through theheart normally. This normal blood flow is called aninnocent, or normal, murmur.

What are the different heart murmurs?

Types of murmurs include: Systolic murmur - occurs during a heartmuscle contraction. Systolic murmurs are divided intoejection murmurs (due to blood flow through a narrowedvessel or irregular valve) and regurgitant murmurs.Diastolic murmur - occurs during heart musclerelaxation between beats.

Do heart murmurs have different sounds?

Heart murmurs. The most common abnormal heartsound is a heart murmur. A murmur is a blowing,whooshing, or rasping sound that occurs during yourheartbeat. An abnormal murmur in adults is usually caused byproblems with the valves that separate the chambers of yourheart.

Does cardiomyopathy show up on ECG?

Currently, the diagnosis of HypertrophicCardiomyopathy is made by an ultrasound scan of the heartcalled an “echocardiogram” or ECHO. Like the ECGthis is an entirely safe test. An ECHO produces a picture of theheart. Excessive thickness of the muscle can be easilymeasured.

Are heart murmurs life threatening?

Often, heart murmurs are completely harmless andare not associated with any health problems at all. But someheart murmurs are caused by heart disease, and youmay experience fatigue, shortness of breath, or other complicationsof your heart condition.