A heart murmur is an abnormal sound that your doctor can hear when listening to your heart.

Some people are born with a heart murmur, and others develop it later in life, such as during pregnancy.

While some murmurs are harmless, others may indicate underlying heart problems.

Types of Heart Murmurs

Innocent murmurs are caused by blood flowing through your heart faster than usual. This is called a flow murmur, and they are quite common, especially in children or during pregnancy. Flow murmurs may come and go throughout your life and considered innocent or harmless murmurs.

Abnormal or significant heart murmurs are caused by structural abnormalities of the heart. Examples of this can include:

• An infection – sometimes bacteria can infect your heart valves and lead to destruction of the valve. This is called endocarditis. Strep throat, if untreated, can also affect the heart. This is called rheumatic heart disease. Typically, the aortic and mitral valves are affected by rheumatic heart disease.
• A congenital heart condition – structural problems with the heart which develop when a baby is in the womb and persist into adulthood. Some congenital heart disease can just be followed, but sometimes it can require surgery or other minimally invasive procedures to repair the abnormalities.
• Acquired heart valve disease – The most common acquired heart valve disease in older adults is known as aortic stenosis. This is caused by thickening and calcification of the aortic valve, which prevents the valve from opening normally.

Symptoms to Watch For

Although many murmurs are asymptomatic, signs of a potentially serious condition may include:

• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Fatigue or fainting
• Swelling in the legs or feet

Treatment

If you have a heart murmur and any of the above symptoms, your doctor might order an echocardiogram (ultrasound of your heart) to learn more about the cause and severity of your murmur. The treatment will depend on what these tests reveal about your heart.

Innocent heart murmurs usually don’t require treatment. But if your murmur is caused by a problem with your heart or another condition, then the cause of the murmur may need treatment.

Our team at Cardiology Associates of North Mississippi specializes in diagnosing and treating heart murmurs. We use advanced technology to provide accurate assessments and personalized treatment plans to ensure your heart health.