Heart Murmur

One has jaundice; the other has a heart murmur – mon dieu!

We have known about Emma’s heart murmur since she turned one. She was sent to see a specialist at that time and it was determined that her murmur was innocent.

At her two-year check up with Dr. Heeg on October 2, 2006 the murmur was still evident. It hadn’t gotten any worse, but it hadn’t gotten any better either; so off we went yesterday to again see the specialist, Dr. Kelly, a kindly Scottish gentleman with a soft voice.

Again, he determined it is an innocent heart murmur. But this time he explained a bit more as to what type of murmur Emma has.

Dr. Kelly determined that Emma has a Vibratory or Still’s Murmur. This type of murmur is often heard after infancy and is very common. The most interesting feature of this murmur is its ‘musical quality’. How extraordinary that she is even creative in her heart – literally! ;-)

Including Still’s Murmur, common innocent murmurs can be divided into four groups; Vibratory or Still’s Murmur, Pulmonary Flow Murmurs, Venous Hums, and Functional Murmurs.

To put other parents’ minds at ease, it is very common for a child to have a heart murmur. Between 30% and 75% of all children under the age of 18 have been found to have heart murmurs, with most being determined as innocent.

So don’t fret! Do have it checked out, but only worry when worrying is due.

To learn more about heart murmurs, go to Google and search ‘heart murmurs’ or click this link: http://www.childrensmemorial.org/cme/online/article.asp?articleID=154.

Thanks for reading!