I took my son in for his 5 year check up and he has had a murmer since he was about 2. After his 4 year appointment we met with the heart doctor and they did all the testing and he said that his heart is functioning just fine. Have any of your children had a heart murmer that just kinda hangs out? I hear of all these kids dying on the track at school due to an unknown heart condition. Do I take him back to the heart dr or trust that his heart is fine and see if he out grows it eventually? I just can't quite calm myself knowing it is dealing with his heart, scares me. He is very active and never really seems short of breath, let me re-state that he is very very active.
My 6 year old daughter also has one and she's fine. We've been told that most likely with age it'll fix itself.
My son was born with a murmur, too. He is doing just fine. My maternal grandmother also has one, and she is almost 100 years young now!!! Oh, and she is, and was, very active her entire life - she used to walk several miles to work every day as a nurse (and in the snow in Chicago winters, too). If the cardiologist is not concerned, I would just be thankful for a healthy child. Best wishes.
My son went for his 4 yr checkup and they found a heart murmur in him too. We were sent down to Childrens Hospital to have it checked out. The doctor there said its fine, it should fix on its own. Come back in 5 years and we'll check it again, if it hasn't healed up they will do surgery on it, if it has then great. He said once you get into your 30s and it has not fixed itself he could have problems down the road. So I'd retake him in in about 4 years or so and have him rechecked. I plan on taking him in in 4 more years to check it
I've had one for who knows how long. Got the heart people to look at it and whatnot. Its fine. tHey told me that if I exercize regualrly, eat healthy, it will probably go away as it did with an uncle of mine. They said the time to really worry about it is at 60+ if it hasn't. I've been fine though all these years. I'm 31 now. not sure if it is still there or not though, havne't checked in a while
yep! my 6.5 yr old was born with a murmur and still has it. Does not seem to affect him at all :)
I have a 6 yr old with a murmur luckily his isn't too serious doesn't affect him in anyway
Heart murmurs are very common, and usually benign. I've had one my whole life. The kids that die on the track are usually due to sudden stoppage, which is an electrical problem, and not a congenital defect. My daughter had one of those sudden onset myocardial infarctions at age 16. All the doctors have been stunned that she lived through it. Her's was because of a complete blockage of her coronary artery, and not in the least related to a previously undetected genetic problem with a valve in her heart. She got a transplant, and is doing quite well, considering all the drugs, etc that she takes.
Remember when your grandma said "don't borrow trouble"? Well, if the heart doctors aren't concerned, then don't go there. You will have enough other worries in his life that you will need your emotional energy for, believe me!
my mom has had a heart murmur her whole life. she is now 74. she has never had a problem with it or caused by it. she was able to pass (for 12 years straight) a very vigorous physical in order to work in antarctica with no problems.
I was diagnosed with pulmonary stenosis (mild) when I was 5. It has never affected me except that I had to take antibiotics at the dentist and when I had children. Now they don't even recommend that. I still had it at several checkups as an adult but at age 39 I had it checked and was told it had gone away. Apparently this happens sometimes. My daughter was born with a VSD (hole between 2 chambers). It gradually got smaller up to about age 10 and has since stayed small (she's 17). It has never affected her. The doctor said it could still close as an adult. I think you should go to a good pediatric heart specialist (at a Children's hospital is best) and they will tell you if it is likely to affect him. There are many types of heart murmurs. Regular doctors that I saw with my daughter for other things would always freak out when they listened to her heart (it swished instead of beating), but the cardiologist always said that it didn't really matter too much because it was small. Someone who sees children with heart problems all the time will give you a good idea about how serious it really is. If you live in the Denver area, the Children's hospital has a good heart clinic.
I can't answer from the perspective of the mother of a child with a murmur but I was diagnosed with one at the age of 16. I was told at that time that the sound of the murmur led the doctor to believe that I had been born with it despite being completely clueless to its existence. The only time that I have to consider issues (yes this is going to sound strange) is when I have dental work done. I have to take pills for a few days prior to any type of oral surgery but other than that I never notice that I have it. As a mom I completely understand the angst surrounding the health of your child but I would trust the Dr about this one. Good luck and I hope that your son does well!
Just to ally your fears about the children who die on the track at school, these are UNKNOWN heart conditions. They do not have murmurs, which makes them so much more shocking. They are often caused by having a large vessel near the heart that has an abnormally thin wall, and suddenly breaks.
Our 11.5 yr old has one. Never been an issue or problem. In fact.. I forget he has it until I read a post like yours. He swims all summer, does karate year round... and is in every way a normal child. Since the "well child" checks get much farther apart as they age... it hasn't really been "checked on" since he was much smaller. It's possible that he no longer even has it... I'll have to ask them to check next time he goes in for a cold or something. :)
