Your Trusted Cardiologist In NYC

I Was Told I Had A Heart Murmur As A Child

Many people carry anxiety from a childhood prognosis of a heart murmur – an unusual sound heard during a heartbeat. While it is common for youngsters to have a heart murmur, most children do not require treatment. 61 percent of the murmurs in children were found to be innocent murmurs.Most heart murmurs are nothing to worry about: They are caused by blood moving through heart valves and do not require surgery. However, a heart murmur can be caused by blood moving through a damaged valve and only your cardiologist can tell for sure.

Your doctor may use any of these tests to see whether your heart murmur is fine or whether it is caused by disease or defect:

•     Electrocardiogram (ECG), this measures your heart’s electrical activity
•     Chest X-rays, will check to see if the heart is enlarged
•     Echocardiography, which uses sound waves to map your heart structure

Treatment for a heart murmur depends on the cause. Quite often, your doctor will detect a harmless heart murmurs with no treatment needed or just periodic checkups by your doctor.

When other factors cause heart murmurs your doctor will treat the cause. Some types of heart valve disease may require medication or surgery.  Cardiologist NYC.

Here are some treatments your cardiologist may work up with you:

•     Prophylactic antibiotics to reduce the risk of heart infection
•     Drug treatments, including:
  •         Anticoagulants for prevention of blood clots
  •         Antiarrhythmics to control your heartbeat
  •         Beta-adrenergic blockers to control heart fluttering
  •         Vasodilators to open blood vessels to reduce blood pressure
  •         Diuretics to remove excess salts and water from the body
•     Surgery to correct congenital heart defects
•     Surgery to correct certain types of heart valve disease