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Fever
 During
fever the blood flows faster to meet the body's higher energy
needs, this is similar to a fast flowing stream. This murmur
could be heard in any child with fever and disappears when the
fever is over. |
Anemia
 When
the concentration of red blood cells is low, as may happen with
poor nutrition, the blood will flow faster, making a murmur.
This murmur resolves after treating the anemia. |
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A thin chest wall and
a straight back
 Simply because the heart is closer to
the chest wall, the blood flow sound will be easily heard without
indicating there is anything wrong with the heart. |
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Venous Hum
Venous hum is a common innocent murmur heard during childhood.
This murmur is heard as a soft humming sound at the base of the
neck just above the collarbone. It results from the normal blood
flow in the large neck veins (jugular veins).
The doctor may lightly compress
the neck vein to make the murmur transiently disappear, or he
may turn your child's head to one side or another, so as to make
the murmur sound louder. These simple maneuvers help the doctor
to differentiate a Venous Hum from the murmurs resulting from
heart disease. |
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Venous Hum |
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 Still's Murmur
This heart murmur is named after the doctor who described it.
It is heard most frequently in active, healthy 3 to 7-year old
children. The murmur represents the normal sound of blood gushing
out into the aorta during heart contraction.
It has a musical tone to it and
thus is frequently described as "musical murmur"; it
usually sounds softer during sitting and may sound very loud
during fever, anxiety, or exercise. |
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A narrow valve
If you press on your
garden hose, the sound of the flowing water becomes louder, as
the caliber of the garden hose becomes narrower.
As the blood encounters a narrowed valve it becomes turbulent,
and faster to squeeze itself through, thus producing a heart
murmur.
 A narrow valve is called valve stenosis. The importance
of the situation depends on what valve is involved and the degree
of the narrowing.
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A narrow artery
If the arteries going
to the lungs from the heart (Pulmonary Arteries) are narrow they
may produce a heart murmur. This is a defect called Branch Pulmonary
Artery Stenosis.
To learn more about Branch Pulmonary
Artery Stenosis, click here. |
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A leaking valve
As the heart valve closes some blood leaks back making a blowing
sound (murmur). A leaking valve is called insufficient or regurgitating.
Its importance depends on how much blood is leaking, what valve
is involved, and how long it has been going on. |
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Regurgitation |
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A hole in the heart
Because the pressure in the heart chambers is not the same, the
blood will flow from the high to the low-pressure chamber, producing
a murmur sounding like a waterfall. If the hole is small, it
will make a very loud sound. If the hole is large it may make
a faint murmur that may go unnoticed for some time; therefore
a faint murmur may sometimes indicate a serious problem.
A hole in the heart is called
septal defect. If it is between the upper cardiac chambers, it
is called Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), and is called Ventricular
Septal Defect (VSD) if it is between the lower cardiac chambers.
The importance of septal defects depends on their size and site. |
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Small Hole
Large Hole |
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