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General health

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Original poster

Can anyone tell me about heart murmurs in adults?

8 replies

WigWamBam · 25/04/2008 09:46

Dh saw the doctor yesterday because he's had intermittent chest pain for a couple of weeks. Doctor reckons the pain is muscular, but while he was listening to dh's chest he found a murmur.

Dh has to have some blood tests and an ECG next week but is worrying himself sick about this ... which is not a good thing as the GP also found dh has high blood pressure! He doesn't want to Google in case he frightens himself silly - the doctor has told him that there's nothing to worry about until tests show that there is something to worry about, but he's worried nontheless.

OP posts:

SquonkTheBeerGuru · 25/04/2008 09:49

doc discovered that my bro has a heart murmer when doing his medical check so db could join the police.

He's just passed his inspectors exam.

They come in all different shapes and sizes, and I guess that if he's got this long without knowing it was there, it's probably not going to be an issue. If the doc just mentioned it in passing, then again, that sounds like it's not an issue.

My brother wouldn't know he had his, if he didn't know he had it iykwim. He has absolutely NO symptoms at all, and has not been told to do anything differently.

If he is worried though, he should make an appt with the doc and ask the doc about it.

southeastastra · 25/04/2008 09:53

i have one but it's harmless apparently

noddyholder · 25/04/2008 09:56

A murmur is simply the doctors way of describing the sound he hears when listening.Some serious conditions have distinctive murmurs and there are other benign reasons that the flow is heard.Most are benign My mum has one and is fit as a fiddle I have a serious heart defect which can also be heard.tell him not to worry until he has all the facts.The pain is almost certainly muscular but stress can also mimic heart pain so anxiety will make him feel worse.Definite heart conditions seem to have specific sounds which I would think the doctor would have recognised.It si most important to deal with the blood pressure and try to look on the positive that at least he is being evaluated as the problems mainly occur when men don't bother to get things checked!

poshwellies · 25/04/2008 09:58

I found out I had a heart murmour when I was pregnant with dd.
I had a several ecg's,including a 24hr tape and a heart scan-all was fine,its a innocent murmour-which I think in laymans terms it just means extra whooshings/noise around the heart when they listen in.

I do find I get palps at times,whether these are common with mumours I'm unsure.

Stay away from Google,he'll end up with some life threatening condition-learnt that one myself!!

Hope the tests have a positive outcome.

Original poster

WigWamBam · 25/04/2008 10:11

Oh yes, I have insisted that he stays away from Google!

I fully expect that he will be told it's harmless, but combined with the chest pain he's been having dh is quite worried about it, so reading that it is probably innocent will reassure him.

Noddy, he hasn't been to the doctors for about 20 years (typical man!) and he's never even had som much as a blood test done. As you say, at least he went and it can be dealt with! He has a stressful job, which won't be doing anything for the blood pressure - so I'm glad that's been picked up on. He will have his BP checked when he has the ECG and the GP is going to check it again when he goes for the results and if it's still raised he will start to treat it.

Thanks all.

OP posts:

lucykate · 25/04/2008 10:15

i have a heart murmur, i was born with it along with a slight heart defect.

all a murmur is, is a noise which can be heart when the heart beats, mine squeaks!. there are a number of things that can cause a murmur to appear, he may have always had it, but it's just never been spotted before, or it may have appeared recently, hopefully the ecg/blood tests will help explain. murmurs can be caused by high blood pressure alone, not necessarily anything serious, they are very common.

gp is right when he says don't worry until there is something to worry about, (easier said than done though isn't it)

Original poster

WigWamBam · 25/04/2008 10:36

Interesting that they can be caused by high blood pressure alone.

I think the most important thing to get checked out is not the murmur but the blood pressure, because I know how many problems untreated hypertension can cause. But of course dh is worried because he doesn't know anything about heart murmurs, and the GP wouldn't tell him anything until he's had the ECG done.

You've all been really helpful - thank you!

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AMumInScotland · 25/04/2008 10:37

My DS has an innocent one which was picked up at his 3-year check. I think people just didn't used to get checked out as much when they were small, so lots of them never got picked up, and it's only when someone has a more thorough checkup as an adult that it gets noticed. If the doc had heard anything really scary he'd have sent your DH straight to the hospital to get looked at - we had to go to the hospital next day because DS's was loud enough to be worrying, but after the checks they decided it was innocent after all.

Obviously the blood pressure etc is important and needs to be dealt with, but it sounds like the other checks are just a precaution in his case. On the positive side, it sounds like this scare may get your DH to take his health more seriously and maybe rethink the stressful lifestyle a bit.

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