Heart murmur....need info please!

Hi all, my DS Gabe has had a heart murmur since he was born. I have not really worried about it at all, as I know that they are quite common. So really I am just after some info. At the moment he has a chest infection so his heart murmur is more noticeable to the dr. He is just short of 10mths old, 8 mths corrected age.

What I want to know is when will his heart murmur likely go? What is the longest it can last? When should I ask his paed for more tests etc?

All personal stories and info/help would be much appreciated.

Hi Helen,

Depends on the type of heart murmur as there are a few different kinds- depending on the valve etc. Some are benign and will never effect the person. Has your son had an echo(echocardiogram), which is an ultrasound of the heart? I'd be asking for one of these if he hasn't.

I have a heart murmur, it was diagnosed when i was 13- and is of the mitral valve (called a mitral valve prolapse/regurgitation). Doesn't really effect me and I get a check up every 3-5 years just to make sure it isn't getting worse.

Some murmurs wil dissappear but others are for life, depends like I said before on the type of murmur.

I guess things to look at for when he is getting older- if he get blue lips or extremeties when it isn't cold or get tired before other kids. Hopefully your son has nothing to worry about and it's just one of those benign murmurs that won't effect him.

HTH

thats good advice from previous post.

DD1 had a 3mm hole in her heart (VSD) at birth, when she was 12 months old it was closed to the size of a pin hole and at 2 years it was closed altogether. we never had any troubles with it at all.

they also found a small regurgitation in a valve at 2 year check up which means we just have to have the ultra sound every couple of years to chek on it.

HI! My first DD had a small VSD at birth too (it was a pin***** in her heart at the 20wks scan) and she had a murmur because it hadn't closed yet. A heart murmur is simply the sound that the blood makes as it is pumped through the heart. I was told to think of it as a gurgling stream. When someone does not have a heart murmur, there is no noise, it is silent as it gets pumped around, but with a murmur its like a wooshing sound. I have one myself too from a leaky mitral valve. It causes me no problems but i am supposed to have abs for dental treatment etc incase of blood infection.

My DD grew out of it by the time she was a toddler, but any child can get a heart murmur during an illness such as your little one has and most children will have one temporarily at some point. So long as he is fine, doesn't get exerted easily when playing and doesn't have a blue tinge around his mouth, then he will be fine - most murmurs are innocent and will go in time.