My beautiful niece, Abigayle Marie, was born last night. She is a beautiful baby, with the sweetest round cheeks I’ve ever seen.
Today I found out that Abigayle has a heart murmur. Initially, I was scared, not knowing much about heart murmurs. I decided to do some research and here’s what I found.
What is a heart murmur?
A murmur is the sound blood makes while flowing through the heart. The normal heart beats like this, “thump-thump, thump-thump.” The heart of a baby with a heart murmer has an extra beat.
Are heart murmurs in infants serious?
They can be, but usually not. It’s estimated that 85% of newborns have some sort of heart murmur within the first 24 hours of life. However, the murmur typically goes away within 48 hours.
The types of heart murmurs:
Innocent Heart Murmurs – This is the most common type of heart murmur. It is often seen in newborns and is caused by the normal closure or narrowing of blood vessels in the lungs. These are called Innocent Heart Murmurs because they pose no problems to the baby.
Pathologic Heart Murmurs – This is a more serious murmur, and is caused by defects in the heart. In children, the most common form of this heart murmur is VSD, Ventricular Septal Defect. With VSD, a hole is present in two chambers of the heart. This leads to a connection between the chambers that should not be there.
What happens next?
If your doctor suspects your baby may have a murmur, he or she can usually diagnose the type by simply listening to your baby’s heart. If your baby is otherwise healthy, the diagnosis is usually an Innocent Heart Murmur. If more testing is needed, however, an electrocardiogram (EKG) will be performed. Finally, if no conclusions can be made from the methods described above, the baby will receive an echocardiogram (an ultrasound of the heart).
Try not to panic if your baby has been diagnosed with a heart murmur. Though some murmurs can be serious, many are not. As I stated above, most babies who develop heart murmurs within the first 24 hours of life, will be murmur-free within 48 hours. Young children who develop heart murmurs usually get rid of them before adolescence.
When in doubt, talk to your doctor or pediatrician. They can give you the answers you need.