Heart murmor???

[neeky]

Upon taking my son to the dr about a cold he'd had for 2.5wks we were told he had a heart murmor and needs to have a echocardiogram (or something like that) he also said it is relatively common and not something to worry about... but needless to say still worried!!!!
has any one been thru this? what should i expect with this echocardiogram thing?:(

[~Emmylou~]

Hi neeky
I know it's scary to be told something like that but try not to worry too much, heart murmurs (esp in little ones) are usually mild and harmless. MOst of the time they're caused by the sound of the bloodflow through the heart (ie. it bouncing off the walls of the arteries). They dont' usually indicate a structural problem with the heart.

I have one when I'm pregnant which is harmless. I recently had an echocardiogram to check on it, all it is an ultrasound of the heart just like you have on your belly when pregnant. It takes about 20 minutes or so, they will do a thorough scan of his heart and then you see a cardiologist afterwards. It's totally painless but you might have a battle keeping a little one still for that long ;)

Good luck and let us know how you go.

[neeky]

oh god the most horrifying part about that is keeping him still for that long! i cant keep him still for 2 mins let alone 20, even when he's asleep lol!

thank you, you have definetly settled my nerves!:smiliedance:

[pebilz]

My DD has a heart murmur and it was diagnosed when she was a day old. The echo's are essentially an ultrasound on the heart. My daughters defect is called pulminary stenosis which bascially means she has a small bit of extra tissue in her artery so when you listen to her heartbeat instead of going boom boom it goes swish swish. When my girl was that little she was relatively calm and would stay still as she wouldn't really know what was going on. Now that she's a bit older she's not as happy as she know's something is up!

If you do want any more info please feel free to PM me. I know it's tough but of all the heart defects it's one of the best ones to have so to speak as our cardiologist says and he is one of the best. My daughter has had to go through a procedure which I can fill you in on later if you want.

And by the way you wouldn't guess there is anything wrong with her either. It doesn't affect her daily life at all (and probably never will) and she is probably THE most energetic child I know.

Goodluck with everything. :fingerscrossed:

[Briswegian]

Apparently they are very common. I had one when I was born and had it monitored while I was young I think until 5 years and then when 15 as a precuation and all is fine.
:fingerscrossed: your bub is the same.

[mum23girls]

all three of my girls had murmurs.

They can spontaneously close.

They will probably do an ecg first which is where they put sticky things on and then attach little clips onto them, which is painless and records the heart rate and then ultrasound it even an xray can be done.

can you possibly feed him for the ecg? you could for the u/s, but only if you are bottle feeding I suppose!!

Good luck! I am sure everything will be fine for your son.

[Billy]

:wave: Hi! I have a murmer that I've had since birth which is caused by a small hole in between the 2 ventricals, it has caused absolutley no adverse effects whatsoever :) It is referred to as a VSD (which stands for a long name I don't think I can spell LOL:rolleyes: ) so if thats what it is feel free to PM me with any questions you have, best of luck- and don't worry! This is a very common thing :yes:

[neeky]

thank you all so much, i feel so much more at ease now, his apt is on wednesday afternoon so as soon as i know what the go is i will leave a msg!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!

[MummyCharmzy]

I have a heart murmer too, have had it checked a cpl of times in my life and most doctors dont evne notice unless I tell them, then they listen again and the penny drops.

I don't know much about mine just that I need antibiotics when I get dental work done and they wont let me give blood because of it!

Thats all it affects though... nothing else :)

[ziggie]

Good luck for Wednesday Neeky, it's horrible when our little ones have any problems :crying: , even when everyone tells us not to worry! So i'll be thinking of you, and here's lots of :hugs: :hugs: :hugs:

[jemma's dad]

Hiya Neeky

I have had one for all of my life, its never been a hassle or caused any problems, and that includes with work as I am in the defence force. Mine is just an extra peice in my heart and instead of hearing just two noises for each beat of the heart, on mine you can hear three, if you are lucky. From memory, I was checked with an ECG every couple of years till I was about 10, and then I had my last check when I was about 15. Anyone that knows me or knew me when I was younger that didn't know I had this would not have had a clue, I was always quite fit and was as competitive in sports and physical activities as those without one. If you want any other info, give me a bell

Aaron

[neeky]

thank you everyone. aiden had his big appointment today, he was surprisingly very good, and the lady was very nice and got it done quick as possible. he didnt even cray at having to stay still!!!!
anyway we wont know exactly what the deal is til mid-late next week but the lady that did it said she didnt think there was anything abnormal going on so thats a major relief!

thank you again everyone for being so helpful, i was amazingly calm today thanks to all your help!

[~Emmylou~]

That's wonderful neeky!
Fingers crossed that all will be well! :)

[maartysmum]

Hi Neeky,

My son was diagnosed with his heart murmur at 6 weeks, he has a Restrictive muscular ventricular septal defect, in laymans terms he has a hole between the two pumping chambers but I have been told that it is very common and nothing to worry about, he can still live a normal life and do all the crazy little things that other boys do!

I highly recommend feeding him before his appointment and make sure you burp him properly (that was my mistake - not burping properly). When my son went for his appointment he screamed the hospital down. The Cardiologist even went as far as putting in the final report " Unfortunately, he was extremely uncooperative when laying down for echocardiography.." How embarrassing!!:laughing: Good luck at your appointment.