should i be worried about my daughters heart murmur?

Question

my daughter is 13 months old she was 2 weeks over due born at ten half pounds she was rushed into intensive care baby unit and in an incabater for two days got low pulse she is home now but she has never gained much weight she is fifteeb pounds now and she eats solids but recently about six months ago she ended up in hosiptal because she had quite a severe cold and she was found to have a heart murmur i was told to wait a few weeks as it may be because it might be because she has ngot a fever she still got it i have been told to ciome back four times since and she has still got it now she is due yo have echograoh has any one elses kids had one of these and shold i be worried thankd

she keeps going blue around the lips too and she is always crying

Answer 1

Keep up with seeing a cardiac specialist as they tell you to come in. Heart murmurs can be serious. Because so many live with this condition & many undiagnosed until adulthood, they have never had a complication & therefore feel they can inform the public it is no big deal. Not so!

Answer 2

My son's murmur was discovered at about 2 days old, he was rushed down for all the tests straight away. His murmur sounded quite bad but when the test results came back he didn't need further treatment. They kept a close eye on him for the first couple of years.

An echocardiogram is a bit like an ultrasound you had when you were pregnant. (I watched my dad have this test done in January 06, it wasn't about when my son was little)

My son had an ECG (electrocardiogram) which is where they put some sticky pads on his chest and took a reading it took longer to stick the pads on than it did to take the reading it didn't hurt at all. He also had an X-ray.

My son is 18 and he has a heart murmur and it hasn't been a problem for him. I can understand your worry and anxiety, I had a lot when my son was a baby as well. I will not say try not to worry because until you get the results back you will.

I just hope what I have told you helps reassure you a tiny bit.

The link below explains some of the tests.

Hope this helps. :-)

Answer 3

While it is common for benign heart murmurs of infancy to not be problematic, you have some evidence that her growth curve is not normal and the doctors want to find out why. Without knowing what the murmur sounds like, would be risky to guess what is causing it. Did they mention any number in association with it, like "two over six diastolic"? That would be helpful to know.

The good news is that she could not have picked a better time to have a heart murmur. They are aware of it and are looking into it. If she has a problem, odds are it will be reparable, with little to no sequelae.

Listen to the doctor, insist they listen to you. If necessary take notes, take a list of questions. Ask if you can record their answers so you don't forget anything. Take along a friend or family member who may be helpful at clarifying things. Never hurts to have an advocate with you.

Best wishes.

Answer 4

What you are talking about is an Echo Cardiogram (often referred to by its initials ECG).

You have probably seen one on one of the hospital drama series - it is a machine with a cathode ray tube (a television screen) that records your daughter's heart beats - it also hhas a printer attached to it so that the Doctors can have a print out of the graph that shows your daughter's heart beats.

Having a heart murmur is obviously quite serious but not disasterous.

I hope this answers some of your questions and allays your fears.

Answer 5

An echocardiogram is just like an ultrasound except that they look at the heart and do all kinds of measurements. They can see how the valves open and close and see how well the blood flows through the heart. This test tells a whole lot - so you should know very soon when she has this test how serious it is and if you should worry or if surgery may be needed.

Answer 6

Hey, dont worry too much...easy to say right? lol but chances are it is something that will straighten out as she gets older and stronger. "Many normal children have heart murmurs, but most children do not have heart disease. An appropriate history and a properly conducted physical examination can identify children at increased risk for significant heart disease." (american family physician magazine) So i would try not to worry and just let the docs do their stuff and dont be scared about the echograph, all it is is a diagnostic tool that allows them to get a better picture of whats going on inside a little like the scan they did on your tummy when you were pregnant with the little girl :-)

Answer 7

If she is turning blue around the lips, she probably has an Artial Septal Defect or a Ventricular Septal Defect. That means a hole in one side of her heart. They are easily repaired with no long term complications.

The echo-gram will show exactly what the problem is and then the doctors will know how to proceed. Just don't put it off. Good luck.

Answer 8

My daughter is 13 months old and they found a murmur when she was 4 months...for her it is just a valve that they say should have closed in utero but sometimes it takes longer and for me to watch it...they also said that if it had been a different kind of murmur it could be more serious so I guess it depends on what kind of murur it is...just make sure your child is checked regularly!

Answer 9

Usually murmurs are nothing to worry about. I'm 23 and having been living with one all my life. No complications. The normal tendency is that it will shrink with time.

The most I've had is I would need to take some antibiotics if I were to have dental surgery.

Answer 10

Some heart murmurs are harmless. Sometimes these holes in younger children will seal themselves others dont. What has the doctor told you about it.