Verified on 03/22/2024 by Alexane Flament, Editor
A heart murmur is a sound the heart makes while pumping blood. It can be benign or indicative of an underlying heart disorder.
In this case, it may be accompanied by other symptoms. We take stock of this common heart problem.
An abnormal heart sound
The heart murmur is a specific heart sound that the doctor hears with a stethoscope. This is a very common reason for consultation in pediatric cardiology.
Up to 40% of children (especially around the age of three or four) have a heart murmur. Heart murmur can also be detected in adulthood. This is a symptom and not a disease.
In children, it is the sign of the presence of disturbances during the flow of blood in the heart or vessels. It can reflect a cardiac abnormality but very often in children, it is benign.
In adults, in most cases it corresponds to a narrowing or insufficiency of one or more valves of the heart (flexible structures which separate the heart chambers from each other). A heart murmur can be present from birth (congenital) or acquired during life.
It is rarely serious in children
In less than 1% of cases, a heart murmur is a symptom of congenital or acquired heart disease. The most common diseases are:
- a heart valve that does not open or close properly;
- an abnormal communication between two chambers of the heart.
In most cases, these abnormalities do not require any intervention, just medical supervision and some precautions. Sometimes it may be necessary to perform an intervention, surgical or catheter, to correct the heart abnormality.
A valve disease often caused in adults
Heart murmurs can also be benign in adults. Indeed, it can be linked to a minor cardiac anomaly or to a thin or flat chest wall (which makes it easier to hear the heart) or to anemia.
In some cases, a heart murmur is a sign of an abnormality of a heart valve. This may be calcified or no longer seal sufficiently, causing a leak.
Then the heart cannot pump enough blood around the body, which can cause symptoms.
If a cardiac abnormality is the cause of the murmur, regular medical monitoring by a cardiologist is necessary. It is up to the specialist to decide whether or not to implement treatment.
Whether treatment is necessary will depend on the type of abnormality detected. The most common valve diseases in adults are aortic stenosis, aortic insufficiency andmitral insufficiency.
Journalist
March 22, 2024, at 6:10 a.m.
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