Heart Murmur
by Creytisha Gray
What is a heart murmur?
Heart murmurs are sounds during your heartbeat cycle (like whooshing or swishing) made by irregular blood flow in or near your heart. There are two types: innocent (normal heart, rapid blood flow) and abnormal (due to acquired heart valve problems, i.e, stenosis or regurgitation-related).
Symptoms?
How it is diagnosed
How does it occur?
- Physical activity or exercise
- Pregnancy
- Fever
- (Anemia) Not having enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your body tissues)
- Excessive amount of thyroid hormone in your body (hyperthyroidism)
- Phases of rapid growth, such as adolescence
- Holes in the heart or cardiac shunts
- Heart valve abnormalities
- Valve calcification
- Endocarditis
- Rheumatic fever
Treatments? Cures?
Abnormal: may not require treatment, but if so one or more of these will be prescribed:
- Anticoagulants (prevents blood clots)
- Water pills (removes excess fluids from body)
- ACE inhibitors (lower blood pressure)
- Statins (lower cholesterol)
- Beta blockers (lower heart rate and blood pressure)
The prognosis.
For abnormal, the prognosis really depends on the severity/condition of the murmur. But treatment, in most cases, produces a good prognosis.
Who's effected?
Sources
"How Is a Heart Murmur Diagnosed?" Heart Murmur, Diagnosed. NHLBI, 20 Sept. 2012. Web. 14 Jan. 2016. <http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/heartmurmur/diagnosis>.
"Heart Murmurs." - Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2016. <http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-murmurs/basics/definition/con-20028706>.