Heart murmurs

Examples of Heart murmurs in the following topics:

• Heart Murmurs

  • Heart murmurs are pathologic heart sounds indicative of valve and blood flow abnormalities.
  • Heart murmurs are pathologic heart sounds that are produced as a result of turbulent flow of blood sufficient to produce audible noise.
  • Heart murmurs are most frequently categorized by timing into systolic heart murmurs and diastolic heart murmurs; however, continuous murmurs cannot be directly placed into either category.
  • Location refers to where the heart murmur is usually auscultated best.
  • Heart murmurs are often the result of leaky valves.

• Heart Sounds

  • Heart sounds are a useful indicator for evaluating the health of the valves and the heart as a whole.
  • Heart murmurs sound like a "whoosh" or "slosh" and indicate regurgitation or backflow of blood through the valves because they cannot close properly.
  • Heart murmurs are common and generally not serious, but some may be more severe and/or caused by severe underlying problems within the heart.
  • Murmurs may also be caused by valve stenosis (improper opening) and cardiac shunts, a severe condition in which a defect in the septum allows blood to flow between both sides of the heart.
  • Third and fourth heart sounds, S3 and S4, differ from S1 and S2 because they are caused by abnormal contraction and relaxation of the heart instead of the closure of valves and are more often indicative of more severe problems than are heart murmurs.

• Congenital Heart Defects

  • Some children have no signs while others may exhibit shortness of breath, cyanosis, syncope, heart murmur, under-developing of limbs and muscles, poor feeding or growth, or respiratory infections.
  • Congenital heart defects cause abnormal heart structure resulting in production of certain sounds called heart murmur.
  • These can sometimes be detected by auscultation ; however, not all heart murmurs are caused by congenital heart defects.
  • It is called hypoplastic left heart syndrome when it affects the left side of the heart and hypoplastic right heart syndrome when it affects the right side of the heart.
  • Hypoplasia of the heart is generally a cyanotic heart defect.

• Aging and the Heart

  • As a person ages, the walls of the heart thicken, the heart becomes heavier, valves stiffen and leak, and the aorta becomes larger.
  • As a person ages, the walls of the heart thicken and the heart becomes heavier, heart valves stiffen and are more likely to calcify, and the aorta, the major vessel carrying blood out of the heart, becomes larger.
  • The heart muscle becomes less efficient with age with a decrease in both maximum cardiac output and heart rate, although resting levels may be more than adequate.
  • A weak ventricle is not an efficient pump, so this issue may progress to congestive heart failure.
  • The heart valves may become thickened by fibrosis or calcification, leading to heart murmurs and less efficient pumping.

• Heart Failure

  • Heart failure is defined as the inability of the heart to supply blood to the organs of the body.
  • Heart failure (HF), often called congestive heart failure (CHF), is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body.
  • Common causes of heart failure include myocardial infarction and other forms of ischemic heart disease, hypertension, valvular heart disease, and cardiomyopathy.
  • The term heart failure is sometimes incorrectly used to describe other cardiac-related illnesses, such as myocardial infarction (heart attack) or cardiac arrest.
  • Heart murmurs may indicate the presence of valvular heart disease, either as a cause (aortic stenosis) or result (mitral regurgitation) of heart failure.

• Aging and the Cardiovascular System

  • The heart muscle becomes less efficient with age, with a decrease in both maximum cardiac output and heart rate.
  • The heart loses about one percent of its reserve plumbing capacity every year after we turn 30.
  • Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted, causing death of heart tissue.
  • The phrase heart attack sometimes refers to heart problems other than MI, such as unstable angina pectoris and sudden cardiac death.
  • The heart valves may also become thickened by fibrosis, leading to heart murmurs and less efficient pumping.

• Marfan Syndrome

  • Marfan syndrome is a disease of the connective tissue causing weakening of the heart valves, aorta, joints, and eyes.
  • The most serious complications are defects of the heart valves and aorta.
  • Degeneration of the heart valves can lead to a heart murmur and inadequate circulation.
  • The goal of treatment is to slow the progression of aortic dilation and damage to heart valves by eliminating arrhythmias, minimizing the heart rate, and minimizing blood pressure.
  • Beta blockers have been used to control arrhythmias and slow the heart rate.

• Anatomy of the Heart

  • The heart consists of four chambers separated into two sides.
  • Each side contains an atria which receives blood into the heart and flows it into a ventricle, which pumps the blood out of the heart.
  • The left heart deals with systemic circulation, while the right heart deals with pulmonary circulation.
  • The heart also has its own blood supply, the cardiac arteries that provide tissue oxygenation to the heart as the blood within the heart is not used for oxygenation by the heart.
  • This composite sac protects the heart, anchors it to surrounding structures, and prevents the heart from overfilling with blood.

• Layers of the Heart Walls

  • The outer layer of the heart wall is the epicardium.
  • The epicardium refers to both the outer layer of the heart and the inner layer of the serous visceral pericardium, which is attached to the outer wall of the heart.
  • The middle layer of the heart wall is the myocardium—the muscle tissue of the heart and the thickest layer of the heart wall.
  • This in turn can affect the contractility of the heart.
  • The dark area on the heart wall is scarring from a previous myocardial infarction (heart attack).

• Fibrous Skeleton of the Heart

  • The cardiac skeleton, also known the heart's fibrous skeleton, consists of dense connective tissue in the heart that separates the atria from the ventricles.
  • The fibrous skeleton provides critical support for the heart and separates the flow of electrical impulses through the heart.
  • The fibrous skeleton of the heart acts as an insulator for the flow of electrical current across the heart.
  • This electrical separation is essential for cardiac function, because electrical impulses flow from the top of the heart to the bottom of the heart.
  • Without the fibrous skeleton of the heart, the heart's ability to pump blood would be considerably less efficient since the ventricles would contract before filled to capacity.