Heart murmur in 2yr.old daughter, anyone else...?!
Question: Anyone found out there toddler had a heart murmur???
She went for her 2yr. old check up today and he heard a heart murmur. She has to go the childrens hosptial to get checked out by a professional next week.
I am really scared.
Anyone know anything about heart murmurs in Children or had a child who had one??
What to expect them to do at the hospital?
Answers: Anyone found out there toddler had a heart murmur???
She went for her 2yr. old check up today and he heard a heart murmur. She has to go the childrens hosptial to get checked out by a professional next week.
I am really scared.
Anyone know anything about heart murmurs in Children or had a child who had one??
What to expect them to do at the hospital?
Heart murmurs can be present at birth or develop later in life. Murmurs are common in infants and children. Nearly two-thirds of heart murmurs in children are produced by a normal, healthy heart and are harmless. This condition is called an innocent heart murmur. It also may be called functional, physiologic, or benign. Innocent heart murmurs are usually very faint, intermittent, and occur in a small area of the chest. They can disappear and reappear from one examination to the next. Most innocent murmurs disappear by adulthood, but some adults may still have them.
Children with these symptoms may be referred to a pediatric heart specialist, called a pediatric cardiologist. The cardiologist will perform a physical examination, review the child's personal and family medical history, and order tests to evaluate the source of the heart murmur.
The physical exam will be performed to identify signs of illness or physical problems. The child's blood pressure, pulse, reflexes, and height and weight are measured and recorded. Internal organs are palpated, or felt from the outside, to determine if they are enlarged.
To determine if the child has any conditions or disorders that might increase the risk of a cardiovascular defect, the physician will review the child's family medical history.
Tests may include a chest x ray, echocardiogram, or electrocardiogram. A chest x ray is used to look at the size, shape, and location of the heart and lungs.
The parent or caregiver should call the child's pediatrician if the child has these symptoms or conditions, which could be the sign of an underlying heart problem:
* feeding problems in infants
* poor weight gain
* swelling in the ankles or feet
* swollen abdomen
* poor exercise tolerance
* recurrent chest colds and respiratory infections
* abnormal blood pressure
* signs of infection including sore throat, general body aches or fever
The parent or caregiver should seek emergency treatment by calling 911 in most areas when the child has these symptoms or conditions:
* bluish skin tone
* bluish coloration around the lips, fingernail beds, and tongue
* breathing difficulties or rapid breathing
* dizziness or fainting
* uncontrolled coughing or coughing with blood
* irregular heart beats or palpitations (abnormal heart beats that feel like fluttering in the chest)
* chest pain (although rare in children)
OMG are you OK??? no you arent of course you are not is SHE OK????? OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OOHHHHHH TELL IF SHE IS OK OMG OMG OMG POOR GIRL!!!!
They will most likely do an echocardiogram. This is basically an ultrasound of the heart, similar to the one you had while pregnant. I twill be able to show them the heart's overall function, direction of blood flow & any defects of the heart. Sounds like she may have an ASD (Atrial Septal Defect) or a VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect). Both are holes betweent their respective heart chambers. These can be present at birth & may or may not cause problems. Some close on their own, maybe hers didn't. Or she may have a valve insufficiency, meaning the valve doesn't close completely after each beat, therefore have some backwards blood flow. The Echocardiogram will be helpful in dx. so try not to worry until you get these results. It may be very minor.
Pediatric RN
i had a heart murmur once. but i didn't have tachycardia or anything. i hope. sorry.
Detecting a heart murmur in a toddler is one sure way to give the mom palpitations, isn't it? The heart is basically just a pump, and pumps sometimes just make noise- it doesn't mean there is anything major wrong with it. A murmur is the noise the heart makes as it works. With a small child, they can have them one day, and not the next- it can be barely detectable to one doctor, and loud and clear to a sharp eared one. Usually if they find anything, they will find a mild mitral valve prolapse- called a click murmur. The mitral valve controls flow between the left atrium and ventricle, and sometimes it doesn't shut completely- or it snaps into place a bit late, or will just flap a tiny bit when the heart contracts. That produces a murmur. A lot of people have a MVP and never even realize it until a sharp eared doc hears it. Even so, an exam the next day and he won't hear it at all. Toddlers can also just have mystery noisy hearts, with nothing detectable wrong at all, and it disappears as quickly as it showed up. The doctors and hospital will start with a simple exam and listen to her chest. Then they will likely do an ECG, to check the electrical function of the heart- the most important thing- because you can't hear that at all. If they do hear the murmur, then they will do an echocardiogram to see whats up with the valves and have a peek at the heart itself. Depending on how that goes, they may do a 24 hour Holter monitor, to see how the heart acts as she goes through her normal day. In the end, what you will likely be told is that there is a MVP, a mild one, and it's not a big deal. You will just have to have her checked out annually to monitor it, but for the most part it won't have any impact on her at all. If she'd had a serious heart problem, you wouldn't have had to wait for the pediatrician to hear something. She would have other problems you would be concerned about- fatigue, weight loss or failure to gain, blue lips/fingernails, passing out, etc. Since you don't mention any of that, I assume this was just detected on a routine checkup, and you have a pretty healthy 2 year old with a noisy heart. Not that any of this is going to make your worry go away- nah- I'm a mom too and know better. But you don't have to lose sleep and appetite in the time while you wait to see the pediatric cardiologist. If there were really something wrong with that little ticker, your mom alarm would have gone off long ago.
I went through this with my daughter when she was 3. They ran several test and found it to be an innocent murmur. And told me she would most likely grow out of it. At 4 she was below on the weight and height chart. (not just a little, but quite a bit.) So they wanted to run more test on her. They did an ECG, blood work, urine test, and i had to keep a food diary. Let me tell you I was worried and couldn't sleep well during all of this. So i truly understand your fear. All the test came back fine and they went through her food diary. And found that she was recieving all the nutrients that she need. except they said i need to give her more milk. No easy task she hated it lolol. choc.,strawberry, reg she just didnt like it. Now I have a beautiful 13 year old daughter with no murmur. (she did grow out of it) who is very short 4'10 and a half, ( and i have to add that half or she gets mad lol and she just might read this. she is on here all the time. lolol) , but heck what do you expect when her grandmother was only 4'10 and her mom is 5'. lolol
Try not to worry to much (no small task) and you and your dr or doing the right thing with having that ECG done. I will say a prayer for it to come out all right.
This Patient Guide is written for the loved ones of heart patients who are dealing with the short-term stress that comes with a test, procedure or recent diagnosis of heart disease. It explains why support is so important to a loved one with heart disease. It also offers practical strategies on how to support a loved one while also taking care of yourself.