Heart murmur (patient information): Difference between revisions

Jump to navigation Jump to search
Line 92: Line 92:
==What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?==
==What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?==


*In this section you should provide a brief statement of what the patient might expect as the prognosis of their condition.
* Innocent heart murmurs, the prognosis is excellent. For people with other types of heart murmurs, the prognosis depends on the type of heart problem and its severity. In general, even when heart surgery is required, the prognosis is good.<ref name="urlHeart Murmur - Harvard Health">{{cite web |url=https://www.health.harvard.edu/a_to_z/heart-murmur-a-to-z |title=Heart Murmur - Harvard Health |format= |work= |accessdate=}}</ref>
 
*Include prognosis with and without treatment, and also the likelihood of a certain outcome occurring.
 
*For an example of the prognosis section on a patient information page, click [[Pericarditis (patient information)#What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?|here]].


==Possible complications==
==Possible complications==

Revision as of 23:47, 4 October 2020


For the WikiDoc page for this topic, click here.

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Nuha Al-Howthi, MD[2]

Overview

Heart murmurs are sounds made by turbulent blood in your heart. These sounds can be heard with a stethoscope. A normal heartbeat makes two sounds like "lub-dup". Heart murmurs can be present at birth or develop later in life. A heart murmur isn't a disease but it may indicate an underlying heart problem. Treatment, if needed, is directed at the cause of your heart murmur.

What are the symptoms of (disease name)?

  • harmless heart murmur you likely won't have any symptoms and your doctor may discover it when listening to your heart with a stethoscope.
  • presence of this symptoms indicate heart problem:
    • fingertips and lips appear blue
    • Swelling or sudden weight gain
    • Shortness of breath
    • Chronic cough
    • Enlarged liver
    • Enlarged neck veins
    • Poor appetite and failure to grow normally (in infants)
    • Heavy sweating with minimal or no exertion
    • Chest pain
    • Dizziness
    • Fainting

What causes of heart murmur?

  • If it is innocent murmur that means a normal heart. it is common in newborns and children.
  • An abnormal heart murmur is more serious. In children, usually the cause congenital heart disease. In adults, it is due to acquired heart valve problems.

Innocent heart murmurs

  • Physical activity or exercise
  • Pregnancy
  • Fever
  • Not enough red blood cells to carry oxygen (anemia)
  • An increase in the amount of thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism)

Abnormal heart murmurs

  • In children the cause mostly due to structural problems of the heart (congenital heart defects). examples:
    • Holes in the heart.
    • Abnormal blood flow between the heart chambers or blood vessels(shunt)
    • Heart valve abnormalities. Congenital heart valve abnormalities are present at birth, but sometimes aren't discovered until much later in life.
  • In older children or adults causes of abnormal heart murmurs include infections or conditions that damage the structures of the heart for example:
    • Hardening or thickening of valves, as in mitral stenosis or aortic valve stenosis, can occur as you age.
    • Endocarditis. This infection of the inner lining of your heart and valves when bacteria or other germs lodge in your heart. endocarditis if left untreated can destroy your heart valves in people who already have heart valve abnormalities.
    • Rheumatic fever. rare in the United States.

Who is at highest risk?

  • Family history of a heart defect.
  • Uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension).
  • Infection of the lining of the heart (endocarditis),
  • Factors that increase your baby's risk of developing a heart murmur include:
    • Illnesses during pregnancy. such as uncontrolled diabetes or a rubella infection.
    • Taking certain medications or illegal drugs during pregnancy.

Diagnosis

  • Heart murmurs are usually detected by your doctor when listens to your heart using a stethoscope.
  • Additional tests include:
    • Chest X-ray. shows an image of your heart, lungs and blood vessels.
    • Electrocardiogram (ECG).
    • Echocardiogram.
    • Cardiac catheterization.

When to seek urgent medical care?

  • Most heart murmurs aren't serious, but if you think you or your child has a heart murmur, make an appointment to see your family doctor.
  • Get medical help if you feel: Chest pain ,Breathlessness, fatigue, or fainting for no reason, heart palpitations.[1]

Treatment options

  • An innocent heart murmur doesn't require treatment because the heart is normal. If the result is an illness, such as fever or hyperthyroidism, the murmurs will go away once that condition is treated.
  • If you has an abnormal heart murmur, treatment may not indicated. Your doctor may want to monitor the condition over time. If treatment is necessary, it depends on what heart problem is causing the murmur and may include medications or surgery.


Prevention

  • To reduce your risk of developing an abnormal heart murmur by following:[2]
    1. Eat a healthy diet.
    2. Exercise regularly.
    3. Quit smoking.
    4. Cut down on alco​​hol.
    5. Keep pre-existing illnesses, such as high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol, under control.
    6. Maintain good dental hygiene to prevent bacteria from getting into the bloodstream.

What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

  • Innocent heart murmurs, the prognosis is excellent. For people with other types of heart murmurs, the prognosis depends on the type of heart problem and its severity. In general, even when heart surgery is required, the prognosis is good.[3]

Possible complications

  • In this section, you can list the common and most important (life-threatening) complications of the disease or it's treatment.
  • For an example of the complications section in a patient information page, click here.

Sources

  • Put the sources for your information here

Heart murmur Microchapters

Home

Patient Information

Overview

Historical Perspective

Classification

Pathophysiology

Causes

Epidemiology and Demographics

Risk Factors

Screening

Natural History, Complications and Prognosis

Diagnosis

History and Symptoms

Physical Examination

Laboratory Findings

Echocardiography

Treatment

Medical Therapy

Case Studies

Case #1

Heart murmur (patient information) On the Web

Most recent articles

Most cited articles

Review articles

CME Programs

Powerpoint slides

Images

American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Heart murmur (patient information)

All Images
X-rays
Echo & Ultrasound
CT Images
MRI

Ongoing Trials at Clinical Trials.gov

US National Guidelines Clearinghouse

NICE Guidance

FDA on Heart murmur (patient information)

CDC on Heart murmur (patient information)

Heart murmur (patient information) in the news

Blogs on Heart murmur (patient information)

Directions to Hospitals Treating Heart murmur

Risk calculators and risk factors for Heart murmur (patient information)

References

  1. "When should you call your doctor about heart murmurs?".
  2. "www.healthxchange.sg".
  3. "Heart Murmur - Harvard Health".

Template:WH Template:WS