Baby Heart Murmur

A heart murmur is a very common and usually harmless thing that can happen to children between the ages of 1 and 5. The pediatrician usually detects it by listening to the child.

The heart murmur in the baby can be present in up to half of the children. Most of the time it is a harmless sign that will go away over time. At other times, it represents abnormalities in the baby’s heart. We tell you everything you need to know about heart murmurs.

How does the heart work?

The heart is the most important organ in the human body. Its proper functioning is essential to supply blood and oxygen to the rest of the organs and tissues. The heart is divided into four chambers, which are two atria at the top and two ventricles at the bottom. Functionally, we divide the heart into a left half and a right half.

In each beat the following circuit will be completed:

1. Blood without oxygen reaches the right atrium from throughout the body.
2. From the right atrium, it passes into the right ventricle through a valve. From here, the oxygen-depleted blood is sent to the lungs. To leave the heart, it must pass through another valve. In the lungs, the blood expels the carbon dioxide it contained and is charged with oxygen.
3. Blood reaches the left atrium from the heart, charged with oxygen.
4. From the left atrium, it passes into the left ventricle, again passing through a valve.
5. Finally, the oxygen-laden blood is expelled from the left ventricle towards the entire body.
   

What is a heart murmur?

In a healthy heart, with the stethoscope, a doctor hears two sounds with each beat. The first sound corresponds to the closing of the atria and ventricles once the blood has passed to the lower half of the heart.

The second noise, on the other hand, corresponds to the closing of the valves that are at the exit of the ventricles when the blood is expelled from them. A heart murmur is nothing more than a sound of blood that is heard between these two normal heart sounds.

The harmless heart murmur in the baby

Heart murmurs in children are very common. Normally, during a routine examination with the pediatrician, the pediatrician may hear a heart murmur on auscultation. The most common is that this occurs between the year and five years of age of the child.

The most normal thing is that it is what we know as a “harmless murmur”. Harmless murmurs are not caused by any failure or abnormality in the child’s heart. The noise is simply heard, although the heart is completely healthy. Normally, the pediatrician will be able to determine with auscultation if it is a harmless murmur.

In some cases, additional tests may be necessary. An example can be an echocardiogram, in which the structure and function of the heart will be seen to check that everything is correct.

Harmless murmurs account for the majority of murmurs found in childhood. This type of murmur can appear simply at specific moments, such as in the case of fever, or be always present. In addition, they will probably disappear with growth  without having any impact on heart function.

Organic heart murmurs

Although they are not the most frequent, heart murmurs can also appear in children due to an abnormality or pathology in the heart. These murmurs, unlike the previous ones, are permanent, that is, they are always heard, and will not disappear with time. In addition, they can be accompanied by other signs and symptoms. Some of them may be growth problems or unexplained fatigue in the child.

They can be the first sign of congenital heart disease, such as valve or heart muscle problems. In these cases, the pediatrician will be the one who detects that something is not working as it should and will refer the child to the cardiologist. This will be in charge of carrying out the necessary tests and determining the exact cause of the murmur and its treatment.

As for the heart murmur in the baby, you should know …

The most normal thing is that, if the pediatrician detects a murmur in your baby, this is a harmless murmur. We must remain calm and bear in mind that it will eventually disappear and that it does not pose any threat to the health of our child. On the other hand, if the pediatrician considers that the baby’s murmur presents any warning sign, he will be the one to refer the child to the specialist so that he can make an exact diagnosis.

As always, it is important that we monitor the health of the little ones and that we are up to date on routine check-ups with the pediatrician and on the vaccination schedule. Thus, we will ensure that, if there is a problem, it is diagnosed as quickly as possible, with the minimum consequences for the child.