Innocent heart murmurs

Innocent heart murmurs Murmurs without any organic heart disease can be found in children. These have been called by various names like innocent murmur, physiological murmur, normal murmur and even functional murmur. But the term innocent murmur is preferred as it strongly conveys that nothing is abnormal [1]. Less than 1% of murmurs in children are due to congenital heart disease. Classical flow murmurs heard in children are Still’s murmur, pulmonary flow murmurs, systemic flow murmurs like supraclavicular systemic bruits and venous hum [1]. Still’s murmur was described by George Frederic Still in 1909. This is a low pitched murmur heard in the lower left sternal area. It is best heard with the bell of the stethoscope. As it is flow related, it can change with position and decrease or disappear with Valsalva maneuver. McKusick VA et al described it as a musical murmur [2]. Still’s murmur is a mid systolic murmur, loudest in supine position and diminishes in intensity on sitting and standing as venous return decreases [3]. Pulmonary flow murmurs are high pitched murmurs heard in the upper left sternal border. They are better heard with the diaphragm of the stethoscope. They are also flow dependent and will change with position and may decrease or disappear with Valsalva maneuver. When the blood flow velocity increases as in fever or anemia, it becomes more prominent. Systemic flow murmurs and supraclavicular bruits are high pitched murmurs due to normal blood f...
Source: Cardiophile MD - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Cardiology Source Type: blogs