Heart Murmur Index
Featured: Heart Murmur Main ArticleA heart murmur is the sound generated when blood flow within the heart is not smooth. Causes of heart murmurs can be functional, congenital, or caused heart valve conditions. Symptoms of a heart murmur may be none, or may include chest pain, shortness of breath, and arm, leg, and ankle swelling. Treatment of a heart murmur depends on the cause. Patient Discussions - Viewers share their comments
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Related Diseases & Conditions
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Congestive Heart Failure
- Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a condition in which the heart's function as a pump is inadequate to meet the body's needs. A poor blood supply resulting from congestive heart failure may cause the body's organ systems to fail, leading to a weakened heart muscle and fluid accumulation in the lungs and body tissue. There are many diseases that can impair pumping efficiency and symptoms of congestive heart failure including fatigue, diminished exercise capacity, shortness of breath, and swelling. Treatments include lifestyle modifications, medications, heart transplant, and therapy.
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Strep Throat
- Strep throat is a sore throat caused by a bacterium called streptococcus (strep) that can be treated through antibiotics. Common symptoms of strep throat include pinkeye, runny nose, skin rash, cough, hoarseness, diarrhea and more. Complications of untreated strep throat include middle ear infections, meningitis, pneumonia, rheumatic fever, and more.
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Edema
- Edema is the swelling of tissues as a result of excess water accumulations. Peripheral edema occurs in the feet and legs. There are two types of edema, non-pitting edema and pitting edema. Causes of pitting edema is caused by systemic diseases, most commonly involving the heart, liver, and kidneys. Local conditions that cause edema are thrombophlebitis and varicose veins. Edema is generally treated with medication.
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Lupus
- Systemic lupus erythematosus is a condition characterized by chronic inflammation of body tissues caused by autoimmune disease. Lupus can cause disease of the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, joints, and nervous system. When only the skin is involved, the condition is called discoid lupus. When internal organs are involved, the condition is called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
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Palpitations
- Palpitations are unpleasant sensations of irregular and/or forceful beating of the heart. Palpitations can be relieved in many patients by stress reduction, stopping cigarettes, and reduction of caffeine and alcohol.
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Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm is a ballooning or widening of the main artery (the aorta) as it courses down through the abdomen. The most common cause of aortic aneurysms is "hardening of the arteries" called arteriosclerosis.
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Heart Attack
- Heart attack happens when a blood clot completely obstructs a coronary artery supplying blood to the heart muscle. A heart attack can cause chest pain, heart failure, and electrical instability of the heart.
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Chest Pain
- Chest pain is a common complaint by a patient in the ER. Causes of chest pain include broken or bruised ribs, pleurisy, pneumothorax, shingles, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, angina, heart attack, costochondritis, pericarditis, aorta or aortic dissection, and reflux esophagitis. Diagnosis and treatment of chest pain depends upon the cause and clinical presentation of the patient's chest pain.
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Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP)
- Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is also also known as "click murmur syndrome" and "Barlow's syndrome." Mitral valve prolapse is the most common heart valve abnormality. Signs and symptoms of mitral valve prolapse include: fatigue, palpitations, chest pain, anxiety, and migraine headaches. Echocardiography is the most useful test for mitral valve prolapse. Most patients do not need any treatment, however, patients with severe prolapse may need treatment.
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Marfan Syndrome
- Marfan syndrome is hereditary condition affecting connective tissue. A person with Marfan syndrome may exhibit the following symptoms and characteristics: dislocation of one or both lenses of the eye; a protruding or indented breastbone; scoliosis; flat feet; aortic dilatation; dural ectasia; stretch marks; hernia; and lung collapse. Though there is no cure for Marfan syndrome, there are treatments that can minimize and sometimes prevent some complications.
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Heart Valve Disease
- Heart valve disease occurs when the heart valves do not work the way they should. Symptoms of valve disease include shortness of breath, weakness or dizziness, discomfort in your chest, palpitations, swelling of your ankles, feet or abdomen, and rapid weight gain.
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Heart Disease
- Heart disease (coronary artery disease) is caused by a buildup of cholesterol deposits in the coronary arteries. Risk factors for heart disease include smoking, high blood pressure, heredity, diabetes, peripheral artery disease, and obesity. Symptoms include chest pain and shortness of breath. There are a variety of tests used to diagnose coronary artery disease. Treatment includes life-style changes, medications, procedures, or surgery.
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Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
- Alcohol intake by a pregnant mother may result in fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in her child. A child with FAS may be hyperactive and have a low IQ, a small head, a growth lag, short eye openings, flattened cheekbones, a short nose, a smooth, thin upper lip, shortening of the fourth and fifth fingers, and a heart murmur.
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Rheumatic Fever
- Rheumatic fever is a disease that sometimes occurs after a group A streptococcal infection of the throat. Symptoms and signs include carditis, polyarthritis, Aschoff bodies, rash, Sydenham's chorea, and fever. Treatment for rheumatic fever involves eliminating the bacteria with penicillin, erythromycin, or azithromycin. Further treatment focuses on alleviating the symptoms brought on by the body's immunologic response to the bacteria.
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Streptococcal Infections
- Group A streptococcal infections are caused by group A streptococcus, a bacteria that causes a variety of health problems, including strep throat, impetigo, cellulitis, erysipelas, and scarlet fever. There are more than 10 million group A strep infections each year.
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Aortic Dissection
- Aortic dissection is a small tear in the large blood vessel that leads from the heart and supplies blood to the body. There are two types of aortic dissection, type 1 and type 2. Signs and symptoms of aortic dissection include a tearing or ripping pain, nausea, sweating, weakness, shortness of breath, sweating, or fainting. Treatment depends on the type of aortic dissection, and the severity of the tear in the aorta.
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How the Heart Works
- The heart is a very important organ in the body. It is responsible for continuously pumping oxygen and nutrient-rich blood throughout your body to sustain life. It is a fist-sized muscle that beats (expands and contracts) 100,000 times per day, pumping a total of five or six quarts of blood each minute, or about 2,000 gallons per day.
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Ventricular Septal Defect
- A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a congenital heart malformation. A VSD is a hole in the wall of the heart's two lower chambers. Approximately, one in 500 infants will be born with a VSD. Treatment depends upon whether the VSD is small or large in size.
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Heart Failure
- Heart failure is caused by many conditions including coronary artery disease, heart attack, cardiomyopathy, and conditions that overwork the heart. Symptoms of heart failure include congested lungs, fluid and water retention, dizziness, fatigue and weakness, and rapid or irregular heartbeats.
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Endocarditis
- Endocarditis, a serious infection of one of the four heart valves is caused by growth of bacteria on one of the heart valves; leading to an infected massed called a "vegetation." The infection can be caused by having bacteria in the bloodstream after dental work, colonoscopy, or other similar procedures. Endocarditis symptoms include fever, fatigue, weakness, chills, aching muscles and joints, night sweats, edema in the legs, feet, or abdomen, malaise, shortness of breath and small skin lesions. Treatment for endocarditis is generally aggressive antibiotic treatment.
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Congenital Heart Defects
- Congenital heart defects are heart problems that are present at birth. Genetics may play a role in some heart defects. Symptoms can range from nonexistent to severe and life-threatening. Fatigue, rapid breathing, and decreased blood circulation are a few possible symptoms of congenital heart defects. Many cases do not require any treatment. Procedures using catheters and surgery may be used to repair severe heart defects.
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Congestive Heart Failure
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