Heart Murmur in Toddler

Updated on February 23, 2011
A.R. asks from Rush City, MN
12 answers

So my son just had his 2 year check up today and the doctor found an irregular heart murmur. She referred us to a pediatric cardiologist to have it checked out. I have read that they are pretty common in childhood and toddler years. Anyone else have this problem with their child? What was the outcome? Thanks in advance!

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

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1 mom found this helpful
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H.L.

answers from Janesville-Beloit on

i had twins 6 months ago and one of them had a heart murmur so i def think it is common, they told me they usually close up by themselves but he was also 3 months early so they were a lil behind with everything anyway, i dont think you should worry about it too much unless they say its worth the worry because i was told it was pretty common, just be more careful with stressful activites and ask him if his chest hurts at all there once in awhile.

S.K.

answers from Denver on

They heard a murmer in my son when he went in for his 2 year check up as well. We went to the cardiologist and had a full workup done on him and it was deemed to be innocent but the dr still said it was weird because he could hear it when he was laying down and it usually goes away but he said everything looked fine on the xray and everything else. He is now 6 and the dr said she could just barely hear it now, just sounds like a strong heart with a strong blood flow making the noise.

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D.N.

answers from Chicago on

My son has a murmur. It was found when he was about a year old. He will always have it but it is different from a problem murmur. He has a little tissue on the heart that "twangs" when his heart beats. It is almost like a string. No problems are seen for the future and he should not have any issues with sports or running or what have you. My daughter who will be 3 next month also has one. They found this shortly after birth. They did a ton of tests on her before leaving the hospital and found that her 4th chamber did not close after birth as it should. This happens often but usually closes within a few years. The cardiologist when she was born told me that he would not worry about it unless she was 60 yrs old and it would most likely close on its own. We took her for EKG last year and they said it looked okay. But I have to wait for her appt to find out just what it looks like.
Now not to give you a scare: My cousin adopted a daughter with this issue. They were told that the area was closing and found out this past year that it was not.. She recently had surgery to repair it. She is about 7 now so could have been a very bad outcome. I would get the testing done and see what they say before getting too concerned since so many things can come into play.

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K.M.

answers from Kansas City on

Our son has a complex congenital heart defect. It was discovered during a routine u/s. He is almost 3. Murmurs can be nothing or something major. Make sure you keep your appt. Heart defects are the #1 birth defect--1 in 100 children are born with one.

E.K.

answers from Minneapolis on

My son had a murmur detected a birth. And we did not think much of it for several years. But then at about 6 yrs, my son reported that sometimes his heart just races and "feels really loud in my ears".

Well, that was kinda scary and so I felt his heartbeat myself and detected what I called a skippity beat. Every few beats, there'd also be an extra or out of synch double beat.

His pediatrician detected it and called it arrythmia. Because it wasn't regularly irregular but rather was randomly skippity, he was sent to a ped. cardiologist. They thought it was probably not serious but recommended a holter monitor. That was very hard for us because it requires the child to stop and activate the monitor when they sense their heart is racing. It was no super helpful at allaying our fears.

We are just a tad more careful with regard to sports (he is an all-star and we do not hold him back at all) and we were always careful about sugar and 0 caffeine. It also helps to teach the child how to handle stress sicne anxiety can make the arrythmia more apparent.

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J.K.

answers from Minneapolis on

My daughter had this, we went to see a cardiologist and it ended up being nothing. I had the same thing when I was little and again when I was pregnant. It's best to get it checked out just so you don't have to worry.

L.M.

answers from Dover on

My daughter had three at birth...most of us do but by 12 hours old most resolve themselves. They checked her early so they found three. She is now 4 and still have one which they have deemed harmless. She had to be checked at 3 months, between 3-4 years and now not again until she is a pre-teen unless there are problems. You will want to be sure any doctors and dentists that treat her are completely aware of it.

D.D.

answers from Chicago on

Yep. There was a heart murmur found in my 14 year old. I was a little nervous at first. It was found by her endocrinologist (she also has hypothyroidism). I was a little relieved because she said she had actually heard alot of heart murmurs that day and they are very common in children. But, she suggest we see the cardiologist anyway. We had all the tests done. The cardiologist heard it as well, but everything came out completely normal. Just make sure you get it checked. You will be happy you did. There is more than likely nothing wrong though.

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K.S.

answers from Kansas City on

The Dr. found the same thing in our 4yo during his check up. She said it is pretty common, but wanted him to have an EKG and ultrasound just to make sure everything was alright. Sure enough, it's fine. He has what they call an innocent murmor, there is no damage or any restrictions put on him. The Dr. did say this was pretty common and she didn't want to alarm us, but just wanted the tests done, to be sure. The tests didn't hurt a bit and and he was out of the hospital in about an hour.

K.G.

answers from Boca Raton on

Yes, my son had a heart murmur... We took him to the pediatric cardiologist, she ran tests on him (right then and there) and said it was ABSOLUTELY nothing to worry about..She called it a innocent heart murmur. He will grow out of it and it's VERY common in small children.

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B.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Yes it is common and more than likely they will find it to be 'innocent'.

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