Heart murmurs are noises heard by your doctor through a stethoscope when they listen to your heart. They occur when blood flow is turbulent and can indicate a narrowing (stenosis) or leaking (regurgitation) problem with one of the valves. They can also occur with other structural problems with the heart such as a hole or abnormal connection between different chambers. In many cases they can occur with normal flow, particularly in young patients.
A patient may have no symptoms and be heard by your doctor when they listen to your chest for another reason. Sometimes there may be symptoms due to a problem with the heart valves which include chest pain, shortness of breath or dizziness.
In many cases, an echocardiogram (ultrasound) will be required. This identifies the cause of the murmur and if there is a valve problem assesses the severity which is helpful in planning whether treatment is required. Occasionally other scans such as cardiac MRI are needed to assess the heart structure in more detail.
The treatment depends on the findings from the echocardiogram. If there are no problems with the structure of heart then it is likely that the murmur is due to turbulent blood flow through a normal heart and no further investigation or treatment is required.
If there is a problem with a heart valve, in many cases it is possible to monitor the issue annually or six-monthly to ensure no treatment is needed. If there is a severe problem with the heart valve and symptoms, or evidence of the heart struggling to compensate, then a procedure to treat the valve may be offered.
Heart murmurs can indicate a problem with the heart valves and require careful evaluation. Our expert Consultant Cardiologists regularly look after patients with murmurs and are available for consultation on any day of the week and weekends as well.
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