Heart murmur

[kindlemummy19]

Hi guys, looking for a bit of reassurance! My dc has been diagnosed by their GP with a heart murmur and referred to have an echocardiogram in a few weeks time. Is this standard? Does anyone else have any experience with this? Thanks xx

Friends little girl had this. Went for a minor op at great ormond street and is absolutely fine now. Sometimes they heal on their own I understand... hope you find out some more information quickly and get a plan of action for your little one. It’s a worrying time when all you want is for them to be perfect.

Try not to panic. Is your dc obviously unwell or was the murmur picked up during a routine exam for something else?

The murmur will probably be due to a vsd or asd which are holes between chambers in the heart. If your dc is in otherwise good health it is likely the hole(s) is/are small, and your dc will have no health issues. If they have other symptoms associated with heart problems the diagnosis and treatment may be more complicated.

My dc was diagnosed with 2 VSDs, after a heart murmur was picked up as a baby. They have never required any treatment, and one of the holes has now closed by itself. They are a very active, sporty, healthy child.

What age is your dc?
My ds had a heart mumur diagnosed just after he was born by the time his appointment came around his echo came back clear and the cardiologist said the mumur had gone - he was under care of nicu and baby clinic during the wait so it was heard numerous times in the months leading to the cardio appointment

Similar thing happened to my son recently. GP picked it up. Referred him to a paediatric cardiologist a few weeks later who did various tests and concluded that it was nothing to worry about. Suggested it would most likely heal itself over time (he is nearly four). Hopefully it will be a similar situation for your DC.

He is 2 years old, the murmur was picked up when he was ill with something else which is why it took us by surprise. No symptoms at all so hopefully it's not something to worry over too much, the doctor was quite laid back about it but not really spoken to other mums in a similar position.

Hi, try not to panic. Both my boys were diagnosed with heart minors as babies. Dc 1 had an 'innocent heart murmor' which resolved itself. He was discharged from clinic at about 9months.
Ds2 turned out to have a heart defect, but honestly, if they know something is wrong they can do amazing things. He is a very active 12_year old now, and just had yearly check ups. The echocardiogram is a bit scary for us parents, as you see them with wires and attached to a machine, but it doesn't hurt them and is soon over. Keeping them still and quiet is the hardest thing.

My son was diagnosed with a heart murmur as a toddler - he had been referred to cardiology as his lips kept turning blue.

It turned out to be harmless, but was very worrying at the time, so I understand your concern. I'll not bother saying 'try not to worry' because that's no help when you're in the middle of it. But hopefully it will turn out to be nothing too concerning.

We had this when ds was little. Loads of heart murmurs are innocent and my ds’s was. When he saw the cardiologist they agreed that they could hear a murmur, he had an echo and ecg and they were both totally normal so he was discharged. Hopefully that will be the case with your little one as well.

My then two year old had a heart murmur picked up when ill with something else. Saw a specialist and had an echocardiogram (was delighted to be able to watch tv during it in order to stay still) and given the all clear. It’s idiopathic and probably still there but never caused any harm and we’ve been reassured that it never will. I hope you have a similar appointment.

All the kids in our family seem to have murmurs. Mine and my sister's kids. And they've all, like yours, been picked up at GP appointments for other things as toddlers. The cardiology appointments have always been fine, and no treatment has been required for any of them. Some still have them, but the older ones have sorted themselves out now, so I'm assuming the younger ones will follow the same pattern.

It is worrying, as hearts are so important (!), but try not to imagine the worst until you're through the first appointment and have more of an idea what's going on.

Apparently murmurs are super common, and more often than not sort themselves out.

All the best :)

As previous posters have suggested. The majority of murmurs are completely harmless, the truth is more children are now diagnosed as there is better technology but there are likely thousands of adults living with the same, never diagnosed and would never cause an issue.

My DD was diagnosed with a murmur at birth. We've had numerous check ups and echos and she's one of a very small number that will have to have surgery to close the hole to prevent future problems- however no symptoms. Try not to worry about the echo, they'll just do a simple echo to begin with almost identical to a pregnancy scan x

@kindlemummy19 fingers crossed its nothing. I was told by the consultants that often heart mumurs go undetected for long time and are only picked up accidently is they aren't causing any issues and would most like resolve themselves..
In my ds case it was one consultant who picked up the heart mumur at a baby clinic appointment after he was discharged from hospital and nicu. In his case they were concerned due to it making a possible link to a rare genetic condition as he also has unexplained endocrine issues - he didn't have the condition and both the heart and endocrine issues resolved themselves - no known cause for any of it. But in the mean time 2 other consultants and a team of doctors and nurses during his 8 day nicu stint while continuously hooked on monitors failed to hear the murmur as did a gp even though he was listening for it. Referral for the echo is standard and doesn't take particularly long.. Although there was a fair bit of waiting about in waiting rooms. We had a few appointments just to make sure she was happy with it and that it had definitely resolved itself.. Try not to worry too much as hard as I know that is!!

I have a heart murmur, as does my mother. They are apparently normal (or "innocent", to use the correct medical term) for some people, including me. Mine was picked up at a routine medical in early childhood and was re-checked when I was in my teens. It's useful to know if you have one, even if it is not indicative of a problem. I was able to pre-warn my obstetrician when I was pregnant, as murmurs like mine are more pronounced during pregnancy.

Thanks for this everyone :) how long do the results of the echo tend to take? Or is it something that can be diagnosed there and then? From what I've read the murmurs are very common, I just wasn't sure if ALL murmurs that GPs pick up are referred, or just ones they're particularly concerned over.

The appointment for the echo is just that, results then go to the consultant and you get sent an appointment. Ours are normally couple of weeks later. Hope all goes well

My two have had several echos between them and we have always had results the same day as they are scanned either by cardiologist or we see cardiologist straight after scan.
My ds has a murmur that is sometimes heard but his heart is structurally normal, dd has rare defect than has to be checked yearly but no murmur.

Heart murmurs are incredibly common especially in children, it’s good that he’s having an echo and they’re investigating it but it’s likely if he’s not symptomatic the echo isn’t being caused by anything problematic. I have a small PFO (hole in heart) which wasn’t picked up until I was an adult- I have an echo every year to monitor it just to check nothing has changed structurally. My eldest daughter had a murmur which was picked up shortly after birth, also caused by a hole in her heart but this closed by the time she was 5.

As far as I’m aware standard practice is to refer for an echo as doctors would rather be safe than sorry. The technicians aren’t able to give you the results on the day- my experience has always been that I’ve had a follow up appointment a few weeks later but if something is picked up this appointment will probably be a bit sooner.

Good luck I hope all goes well x

We got our results the same day as well. It was the cardiologist who did the echo. Sounds like it varies depending on where you go.

I have one, though mine was picked up in adulthood. It was investigated by a cardiologist etc but all is fine and it doesn’t affect me in any way at all.

Thanks for everyone's support on here! Happy to say my boy had his echocardiogram and we were lucky enough to be told on the day that he has an innocent murmur so nothing to worry about. Thanks again, great network :) xx