Heart Murmur - Fort Worth,TX

Try hard not to worry. (ha, like that is easy). Speaking as a mom of a kid that had a heart transplant at age 16, consider this: Where heart murmurs are concerned, they are so wide and varied it's hard to give you any advice. They range from so mild that they are nothing to ever worry or do anything about to the most serious requiring eventual heart valve replacement in adulthood. In the grand scheme, that is a relatively common surgery and not really all that bad. If she has reached the age of 3 and no one has noticed it before, then it is most likely not a very serious one. Probably will require no special attention, no limitations and no meds. Just a yearly or rarer visit to a cardiologist to watch it.

I have a heart murmur that wasn't noticed until I was a young adult. It's called a functional murmur (I think) and is not a health issue. My heart is healthy and all the valves work just fine. I don't need to take an antibiotic for dental work.

Medical science knows even more about the heart now than they did 50 years ago. Your daughter will be fine.

FYI: The sticky things and wires is an EKG. The test that allows one to see the heart beat is an echocardiogram which is similar to an ultrasound.

I suggest that your daughter may have both tests. I have had an EKG a few times in my life usually as a part of a regular physical exam. And I've had an echocardiogram once when they were diagnosing an irregular heart rhythm. That, too, turned out to not be a health issue. It is unrelated to the murmur.

My son was born with one, his ped didn't tell me until he was 18 months. He said he would probably outgrow it, he did and served in the U.S. Army 7 years. Best wishes!

They will most likely do an echocardiogram. Then they will tell you that it's a functional murmur. That's the best kind of murmur there is, and then you won't have to worry any more about it, at all.

My son's was the same. We found it when he was in 6th grade. He is a top-of-the-line swimmer and we don't have anything to worry about.

Heart murmurs are not that unusual. Many kids and adults have them without it being anything serious. You can expect a full exam, an EKG to see the rhythm of her heart and an ultrasound to look at the blood flow and structures.

My daughter has heart murmur and pulmonary stenososis (narrowing of the pulmonary artery). We go to the cardiologist every year just to make sure everything is o.k

Same thing for me when my son was 3 (i was surprised/concerned that a new doctor discovered it and not by the doc we see regularly). It ended up being nothing. He now has a label of a heart defect, but the cardiologist explained that a 'string' I forgot the real term was not attached and it is flapping around.

he actually told me not to tell the dentist because it is so unimportant and dentist send him stacks of papers to sign off on to do anything when someone has a heart issue. My son has never had a cavity, so it has never come up with the dentist.

I will pray that your daughter just has a simple heart murmur that has not impact on her.

When I take my 2 year old she gets about 10 or so sticky tabs put on her that are connected to wires and a machine. They do not bother her when they take them off. i was afraid they would hurt like a band-aid.

Then we go in and they do an EKG ( I think that is what is is called. Like an ultra sound). You can see the heart on a screen and see the red and blue blood. The vaseline type stuff is kind of hard to wipe off, but not impossible. Just like a baby ultra sound.

Good luck! I hope you let us know how it all goes! My DD has had one since birth and has never had any issues, so try not to worry. My gut tells me that if this is the first time they are hearing it and she has never shown any symptoms it may just be a "thing" she has, but doesn't really have to do anything out of the ordinary.

There are different types of murmurs. My mom and cousin both have them and they just have to take antibotics before certain dental work but no other concerns.

My daughter had 3 when they checked her when she was less than 12 hours old (she's now 6)...they explained that all babies have some openings that don't close until they are born. They normally close by the time they are 12 hours old. Two of the 3 closed by the time she was 3 months.

We had to take her to a pediatric cardiologist for testing and evaluation. She had no other symptoms, health conditions, or concerns so we didn't have to take her back until age 3. Same tests and now she doesn't go back until she's like 12 unless we have any issues arise. It is considered non-symptomatic. They said no deep-sea diving and to be sure when she has kids that her doctor knows so they can keep a watchful eye.

If she isn't having problems, chances are that there is nothing to worry about.

Questions to ask would be:

What is the diagnosis? Prognosis? Treatment? Concerns? Things to watch for?

My son was born with one. They heard it shortly after he was born. He still has it to this day. He is 3. We were sent to Roanoke, VA when he was three weeks old for a sickness and while there he had an echo-cardiogram done. They said everything looked fine. They said it was soft and musical, which is a good sign. The only time his bothers him, is if he is sick and running a fever or some type of infection and then once the Dr. checks him out and gets him Meds, hes okay. Good Luck. Finding out how it sounds and having them explain each sound to you, is a good question. Hope This Helps

99.9% of all kids heart murmurs are innocent and nothing to be worried about. Worked with pediatric cardiologist and I cannot remember one that was an issue in older kids and by that I meam not infant. My son had one. He is now NYC firefighter.

My daughter had this show up at her 2 year checkup. The doctor told us that they sometimes "appear" between 2 and 3. The problem has been there all along, but it is almost impossible to hear before then. About 1 in 100 kids have this issue.

The cardiologist trip was not nearly as scary as it sounds. They attached a bunch of monitors to her chest and sat her down in front of a bunch of cartoons. She sat there for about half an hour and had results for us there in the office.

She had a small hole (about the size of a pencil eraser) between the upper chambers of her heart. This is the most common defect and not a problem. She is 12 now and the hole closed on it's own, as most of them do. She has always been active, the only adjustment we made was we were told no contact sports until the hole was confirmed closed (no soccer).

Questions will mostly depend on the results. But our doctor was very thorough and answered all our questions before we asked them.

yup my son was about 2 when they heard his heart murmur. We went to the cardio and everything looked great and the dr would still hear it at his yearly check ups but it was getting lighter then finally at his 8 yr (about 2 months ago) viola no more murmur.

that's right about the age my son's heart murmur was detected. we took him to a cardiologist, where they found that the murmur was no biggie (i love that the term is 'innocent') but the EKG uncovered that he had patent ductus arteriosis. he was the 2nd or 3rd kid in the country to get it corrected by a catheter procedure, and has been fine ever since.
still has the murmur. when we took him for a check-up when he was about 12 the cardiologist told us 'every heart has its own unique music. dylan's is just a little more funk than most.'
i LOVE that!
it's good you're getting it looked at. chances are it's just fine. please keep us posted!
khairete
S.

My son had a murmur, that they found when he was 2. We went to the cardiologist too and they found nothing wrong with his heart function. The murmur eventually went away by the age of 5. Scary, but our doctor told us they are usually no problem and just something to keep an eye on.

The first thing is that a murmur is the sound that is made when blood isn't flowing correctly through the heart. There is a wide range of things that it could be. The cardiologist will do an EEG with the stickers and an echocardiogram- like an ultrasound to look at the heart. My son was diagnosed at birth and in November at 8 years old had surgery to repair a "hole" in his heart. Six weeks after surgey he was back on the football field and he hasn't stopped playing since.

From what I understand this is not necessarily uncommon in children. My son had one that could be heard occasionally, from about the age of 3 to about 10. We went into a cardiologist and did an EEG, and it wasn't happening at that time. According to my Pediatrician and the Cardiologist this is an issue that can happen to younger children as they grow, and in those cases it will stop. I hope that is the case for your daughter. I remember how scared I was when they sent us to the Cardiologist. I asked questions about what to listen for, and how he should look: coloring, chest and stomach contractions during breathing, how they hold themselves if it creates pain, etc. Every now and then he would say that his heart "felt funny" as if it was skipping a beat. That happened off and on, but we wouldn't freak out unless it kept up. It usually went as fast as it came.

I would say just ask the questions about growth, looks, and feelings. Keep it simple. You don't want to overdo the information at first. If you ask questions about down the road issues, it will keep you up at night wondering "what if". Stick to the here and now. If the doctor thinks that more testing is necessary (beyond an EEG and basic testing) ask about those and what that will tell you. Then when you get those results ask about what will need to be done then. You want to stay as calm as possible around your baby, or she will pick up on the worry...and that helps neither of you.

Don't leave with out "marching orders". Even if it is just to keep and eye out for certain behaviors or physical traits. Make a follow up appointment with either the Cardio or the Peds doc so that you have that comfort of knowing that there is another time they will hear her heart. Something might have changed in that time, and you will feel better knowing that you have that next step already in place.

I am praying that you only have to deal with a little growing (like I did). Good luck, take a deep breath, and relax (easier said than done). It will be OK.

Heart Murmurs are quite common. Heart Defects are the #1 birth defect. I'm glad you're getting it checked out! My 5 year old is a heart kiddo--getting ready for 3rd open heart surgery (he did not have a heart murmur). Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions:) ((HUGS))

Oh Mom, dont't worry about that. Science has develop so much that what in the past surgery was needed these days is not necessary. I'm a living testimony of that. When I was 6 mo. + 4 yo I needed surgery for heart mumur (I'm now on my 30's) to save my life. On my early 20' I went to the Cardiologist to make sure every was fine (even though I was released on on my teenage years) and to my surprise these days surgery is not needed and by taking a pill the condition can be resolved. Only surgery is needed for extreme cases. So, don't worry because like other moms said; on most cases this condition heal on its own. God Bless!