my daughter has a heart murmur

I just found out that my 10 year old has a heart murmur.My husdand says that I am overreacting. I cann't help it.
murmur.

My 47 year-old brother had a heart murmur when he was 15. It went away.

I know it's hard, but you do need to chill. There are much worse things in life. You need to focus on your child building the foundations for a full and happy life. The worst thing you can do for her is to believe it's all over for her and pointless.

Chin up. Your kid needs you.





wd

[edit on 23-11-2005 by soficrow]

It's a terribly scary thing when your kid is ill. However, the fact that they haven't caught it until now means that it's a very minor one. Minor heart problems are pretty common in humans. I have a stuttering heartbeat that wasn't caught until I tried to enlist in the Navy!

My husband has a mitral valve prolapse, and although it's not life threatening, you can *hear* the sound. It's very different from a normal heartbeat. He has no unusual health problems (I don't either, and we're both in our mid-50's.)

So your daughter's condition is probably as mild as mine. This will not keep you from worrying, I know (I get so worried about hubby and kids). Ask the doctor what signs to be alert for and what the reasonable precautions are.

But give yourself a few days to kind of adjust to this. It's scary... for a year or so, I got very depressed each time they upped my husband's heart medication for blood pressure. But after awhile you get used to the situation.

So, from one mom to another, it's okay to worry. But go sit down and unwind... learn about the condition but don't be scared. The serious ones are impossible to overlook -- you would have known about THAT kind (the really serious ones) from the moment she was born.

When my son was a year old the doctor found a heart murmur. It went away, but during that time I felt like I couldn't play with him or anything. I was worried I would hurt his heart.

Thank for your support and stories, it helps and I now that it isn't seriiou or they would have caught before but it is scary. I mean she has asthma,ADHD and now this.Some day I just get so worried.But I am starting to chill and taking it one day at a time.

I think with her other conditions, it's probably not UNreasonable to worry (and the asthma combined with the murrmur is something I *would* be concerned about.)

Your best defense is education. Are you familar with the WebMD site? It's the best source for a good overview of these conditions. Ask the doc about any exercise restrictions and so forth, and read up on her meds to know the warning signs.

(g) I don't mean to get you wound up... I know you worry, because I went through the same kinds of things and am going through something similar with my own dear daughter. But knowing about the condition and knowing the meds is the best way of keeping her safe.

...and take care of yourself. Being a mom can be a scary job!

Like Byrd's husband, I also have PMV and I'm doing OK. So are many other people around the world.

I don't think you have too much to worry about freespirit but of course you should still keep an eye on her.

I read recently, perhaps on this forum, that meditation can regulate a persons heart beat.

If you are really worried about it, perhaps you can do some research into that.

[edit on 23-11-2005 by AceOfBase]

I dont mean to make light of how you feel, but i had it, and my grandchildren have had it. Its gone now for all of us.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and dont worry, it will be alright.

Take care and God bless.

Originally posted by freespirit
I just found out that my 10 year old has a heart murmur.My husdand says that I am overreacting. I cann't help it.
murmur.

Freespirit,

Without more details its hard to speculate as to what is causing it. There a few things that could be the source of the murmur.

A murmur is caused by turbulent bloodflow. Some can be loud enough to be heard without a stethescope as described above.

The heart consists of four chambers (two on the left, two on the right), the top chamber is called an atrium, the bottom chamber the ventricle. The blood flows between the chambers through valves that will open and close based on pressure gradients within the heart and lungs. The right side of the heart pumps blood with low levels of oxygen to the lungs where it then flows to the left side of heart where it repeats the cycle and is pumped out to the body. All things being equal, the left side of the heart operates at a much higher pressure than the left. Blood flow is as follows, Right Atrium to Right Ventricle, Right Ventricle to lungs, lungs to Left Atrium, Left Atrium to Left Ventricle, Left Ventricle out the aorta to the body.


One of the more common causes in children involves an atrial septal defect or a hole between the two upper chambers of the heart.



The biggest culprit in murmurs being discovered in children (and not picked up early) is the failure of the Foramen Ovale to close after birth. The Foramen Ovale is used to bypass the lungs while the child is developing during pregancy. The placenta gets all the oxygen it needs from the mother and since the fluid filled lungs offer high resistance, the blood flow for the most part shunts from the right atrium to the left atrium and bypasses the right ventricle and the lungs. It does this through the foramen ovale. At birth, without getting into alot of detail, the pressures ont he right side of the heart drop and the left side increases. This change in pressure causes a flap of skin to seal shut against the foramen ovale which in most cases eventualy fuse shut. The much higher pressures in the left side keep the flap sealed untill this happens.

However, in some people this does not occur. Most will never know. However, what we see is sometimes a kid will get sick with a pneumonia. The mucus and fluid in the lungs increases the pulmonary blood pressure thus increasing the pressures on the right side of the heart. This can cause the flap to pop back open and shunt blood back through the foramen ovale.

This is but one thing that cause a previously un-diagnosed murmur to occur. It may have never been there for the doctor to pick up

I do not think you are over-reacting, However, if the murmur was severe and causing adverse effects on your daughter, they would have told you. Many cases I have seen are just monitored. However, you should make sure that your MD has explained the particulars of your childs case to you are THEY are all different

[edit on 11/23/05 by FredT]

I'm a little stunned that this would not be investigated further. Without a picture of what is causing the murmur you cannot know whether or not it is nothing to worry about. I do not want to frighten you but I honestly think the doctor should order a sonogram, or whatever the test is that will show the heart.

As for if it were something serious it would have shown up by now, that is not true. My neice was discovered to have a murmur on a school physical to play sports. She had been having one every year, and nothing was ever noticed till she was 15.

It turned out she had a hole in her heart from birth that had never been detected before and it was large. She had surgery to close it (via angio, not open heart) and is doing fine now, but they said had they not picked up on it she would have just dropped one day before she was 30.

I really think it should be looked at and confirmed it is nothing serious, and I am sorry to alarm you, but better safe than sorry. I can't imagine if my neices Dr. had not ordered the test to confirm what the murmur was coming from. She showed no signs of ill health and excelled at sports.

Did you know that children having heart murmurs actually has a fairly high incident rate? My son had one that was diagnosed around the same age and the pediatric cardiologist that discovered it in an echo-cardiogram told me that a surprisingly high number of children have them, but they usually end up growing closed on their own.

I hope this is the case for your daughter. And I hope sharing this helps you a bit. But I also remember how freaked out I was when my son was diagnosed.

I will pray for you and your daughter. And please keep us updated!

[edit on 11-24-2005 by Valhall]

Try to feel at ease about it.
Sometimes its hereditary.

My mom has it, I have it, my daughter has it, etc.

Not saying its cool or desirable, but I ran cross-country in high-school.
3.1 miles in just over 18 min (or rather slightly under 19)
(This was with a curve in my spine also from an accident when I was younger.)

I am in my 30's now, and I am in good health. Had my heart checked a couple years back, and doc said it was fine. (Got to see the inside pumping of blood, etc. Have some large valve etc, which made them inquire as to if I was related to "giant" people...which I do have relatives who are tall) but this is off subject.

Gods blessings to your little one.

dAlen

Thank you all for your caring and sharing of info. We are curently waiting to take Kathy to a specailist. The doctor that found the murmur sent a referral so we are just waiting for the appointment. WE will keep you posted.

It's a fairly normal occurance in children, so most likely it's nothing to worry about. You should have her checked out just to be sure though.

Many people have heart murmurs - in fact, it's quite common. My wife discovered - at age 35 - that she has a murmur. What long term impact does it have? According to my research, not a lot.

It's real easy for me to say this - it's not my child. I am not trivializing your anxiety, but I urge you to have a serious and detailed conversation with your physician or your daughter's physician. Make a list of your questions and concerns. Make sure he or she answers them and that you understand the answers. Knowledge truly is power. We generally fear things we don't really understand. When we understand something, the fear loses its power over us.

Thank you everyone it truely is great to have so much support and advice.This thread has also given my husband something to think about as well. He understands more about were I am coming from with regards to this now and for that I thank you all.

dAlen you may be right My oldest sister had one as well.

Let us know how everything turns out, alright? Hopefully it's ok...

My daughter was born with one...12 years later she's as healthy as a horse (her's vanished on it's own, which is common, before she turned 3). Keep your chin up...heart murmurs are not the big concern that they were years ago.

I know it's upsetting because you're a parent, but the reality of it is she undoubtedly has an excellent prognosis.

IF IT were just the heart murmur I wouldn't be so consered. My sister had one.
But Kathy[my daughter] also has asthma as well and that scares me.

[edit on 10-12-2005 by freespirit]

Well we went to a cardeo doc and had a stress test and a ulta sound of her heart and the mermer is nothing to worry about. Kathy also had some tests done to see if she really does have asthma or not. We go back to Dr.Maman in May and I should have more info than. Thank you everyone that took the time to post on this, it really helped me calm down and see things in a better light. Thanks again and more info when I get it.