The term “heart murmur” always worrying parents. It is important to understand that most of the noise does not mean anything serious. Generally speaking, they are divided into three categories – functional (or friendly) the noise, the acquired and congenital.
If the child has functional noise, it means that the noise in his heart caused no congenital or rheumatic disease. In the first years of life, this type of noise is very common. Gradually they pass through as a child reaches adolescence. The doctor tells the parents about the child’s functional noise to the repeated discovery of another physician; the parents would be able to explain that they existed before.
Functional noise is accompanied by circulatory disorders that affect the state of the heart or other organs. An electrocardiogram (ECG) and chest X-ray are normal. It is believed that the average of all the detected noise, 40-50% make it the innocent noises. “Innocent” noise has often listened in newborns and infants, and reflect the restructuring processes of blood circulation, which occur in the cardiovascular system due to adaptation to extra uterine life, but they can be detected and adults.
Abnormal noises associated with congenital heart disease, in one degree or another blood circulation. Part of cardiovascular disease is diagnosed early, the first months of life, since there are obvious symptoms (dyspnea, cyanosis – cyanosis of skin, the backlog of child development, etc.). Often, however, deviations in the formation and work of the heart are accompanied only by the presence of noise, and the parents and the doctors are not aware of the seriousness of the problem at hand. In addition, the noise of the newborn may be absent, but it appears only a month later, when will a definite alteration of blood circulation. Increase in noise over time is considered to be adverse events.
Most acquired childhood noise result from an attack of rheumatism that causes inflammation of the heart valves and leaves them scarred. This is the reason that they are either “pass” the blood, or become an obstacle for normal blood flow. If a doctor detects a heart murmur, which did not exist, it is on the one hand, may mean that at the moment a child is an active rheumatic process. In this case, there will be other symptoms of infection such as fever, changes in hemogram (blood) and other anomalous phenomena. In this case, it will be shown medication. On the other hand, if signs of active infection are not, then the noise could be due to old scar remaining after already passing attack of rheumatism.
Noises caused by congenital heart disease are usually detected at birth or in the first few months of life (sometimes several years). Such noise is often caused not by an inflammatory process; they mean first of all that the heart is malformed. It is important not in themselves a heart murmur, but whether congenital prevents the normal activity of the heart. In the latter case, the child may have a bluish tinge to the skin, or he has trouble breathing, or slowed growth. A child with congenital heart noises in need of close examination of the expert. Some serious cases may be removed by surgery.
Children with congenital or acquired heart disease should take antibiotics for every dental treatment to prevent the spread of microbes from a wound in the mouth to the heart.
Listening (auscultation) of the heart should be mandatory and regular surveys of all births, as it allows too early to identify congenital heart disease (if present) to determine the treatment strategy and prognosis. ?So: should ask doctors to listen to the heart of a child in the hospital and one month to exclude congenital heart disease. If the child has discovered the noise ahead of time should not be afraid. There is a high probability that he might be “innocent” in nature, are not accompanied by circulatory disorders and not to limit physical activity a child. To clarify the cause of the noise you have to pass a qualified echocardiography. In the presence of congenital heart disease should be monitored in pediatric cardiologist at intervals corresponding to the severity of the disease. If you need correction of heart defect, the child will be sent to the Cardiac hospital for surgery.