Unfamiliar Sounds from the Heart: Signals of Structural Abnormalities
Have you been told you have a heart murmur during a checkup?
Not all murmurs are diseases. However, as they can be the first sign of valvular disease or heart defects, accurate auscultation and differentiation are essential.
A heart murmur is a sound caused by turbulence as blood flows through the heart.
While it can be a Functional (Innocent) Murmur due to normal increased blood flow velocity, it may also indicate Structural Heart Diseases such as narrowed valves (stenosis), leaking valves (regurgitation), or holes in the heart (septal defects).
The cause must be identified by analyzing the timing (systolic/diastolic) and characteristics of the sound.
