When does a heart murmur need treatment?

Laurel Kelly | Mayo Clinic News Network (TNS)

Heart murmurs are sounds, such as whooshing or swishing, made by rapid, choppy blood flow through the heart. The sounds can be heard with a device called a stethoscope and are different from those of a normal heartbeat.

Heart murmurs can be present at birth or develop later in life. Some heart murmurs, called innocent hurt murmurs, are harmless. An innocent heart murmur is not a sign of heart disease and doesn’t need treatment. Other heart murmurs may be a sign of a serious heart condition.

Symptoms

Innocent heart murmurs usually don’t cause any other symptoms.

Symptoms of worrisome heart murmurs depend on the cause and can include:

— Blue or gray fingernails or lips

— Chest pain

— Cough that doesn’t go away

— Dizziness

— Swollen liver

— Swollen neck veins

— Fainting

— Heavy sweating with little or no activity

— Shortness of breath

— Swelling or sudden weight gain

— In infants, poor appetite and lack of growth

Risk factors

Things that increase the risk of heart murmurs in babies include:

— Family history of heart problems linked to murmurs

— Uncontrolled diabetes in the mother during pregnancy

— German measles, or rubella, in the mother during pregnancy

— Use of certain medications, alcohol or illegal drugs by the mother during pregnancy

Some medical conditions that can increase the risk of heart murmurs include:

— A rare cancerous tumor that releases certain chemicals into the bloodstream, known as carcinoid syndrome

— Cardiomyopathy, which is a weakened heart muscle

— Endocarditis, which is an infection of the lining of the heart

— Anemia

— Hypereosinophilic syndrome, which is a group of blood disorders marked by a high number of eosinophils — white blood cells that play an important role in your immune system

— Certain autoimmune disorders, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis

— Heart valve disease

— Pulmonary hypertension, which is high blood pressure in the lungs

— History of rheumatic fever

— Overactive thyroid

Treatment

Innocent heart murmurs don’t usually need treatment. If a fever or an overactive thyroid causes a murmur, the murmur usually goes away once that condition is treated.

Treatment for a worrisome heart murmur depends on the cause. A worrisome heart murmur requires close monitoring by a health care professional. Medications or surgery may be needed.