Murmur or whooping sound in the heart: dangerous or not?

A heart murmur is one of the many heart complaints you may feel. However, do you know what exactly this condition is, its causes, and how to treat it? Come on, see the following reviews.

What is a heart murmur?

A heart murmur is a condition where there is a blowing or whirring sound that occurs when blood flow travels through the heart or blood vessels around the heart. This whirring sound can be heard with a stethoscope and is described as a sound like “lub-dup,” which is the sound of your valve.

The appearance of this whirring sound in the heart occurs due to turbulence, which is when blood flows faster through the heart. This condition can occur in people who have a healthy heart. It is known that about 10% of adults and 30% of children (ages 3-7 years) experience this condition, even though their hearts are healthy and normal.

However, the presence of this condition can be a sign of heart disease that might attack a person. Therefore, you really need to pay attention to how often this condition attacks you and consider seeing a doctor immediately.

What are the signs and symptoms of a heart murmur?

If you have a harmless heart murmur, or more commonly known as a non-disease heart murmur, you likely won't have any other signs or symptoms.

Meanwhile, if this condition occurs due to heart health problems, you may notice other accompanying symptoms. The following are signs and symptoms of heart murmurs that generally occur, both in children and adults:

Skin that appears blue, especially on the tips of the fingers and lips.
Swelling or sudden weight gain.
Hard to breathe.
Chronic cough.
Enlarged liver.
Enlarged veins in the neck.
Lack of appetite and failure to grow normally (in infants).
Chest pain (angina).
Dizzy.
Feelings of wanting to pass out or pass out.

Every person is very likely to feel the symptoms differently. Others feel other symptoms not mentioned above.

So, when should you see a doctor?

Non-disease heart murmurs usually go away once the trigger is also gone. In children, this condition usually disappears slowly.

However, in conditions caused by disease, the frequency will be more frequent. Within a short period of time or a few weeks and months, the symptoms are likely to get worse. If you find this condition followed by shortness of breath, headache, and chest pain, see a doctor immediately.

In order to determine treatment, the doctor will first find out the cause. You will be asked to do a series of medical tests, such as blood tests, electrocardiography (EKG), cardiac catheterization, and echocardiography.

What are the causes of a heart murmur?

The following are the various causes that underlie a heart murmur:

1. Non-disease heart murmur

A person with this type of murmur has a normal heart. This murmur is common in infants and children. This condition can occur when blood flows faster than normal through the heart.

Well, some of the things that can cause rapid blood flow through your heart, resulting in a harmless heart murmur are:

Physical activity or sports.
Pregnancy.
Fever.
Anemia.
Hyperthyroidism.
High blood pressure.
The growth phase is fast, like adolescence.
Infection.

These heart murmurs may disappear over time, or they may last your entire life without causing further health problems.

2. Abnormal heart murmur

This type of murmur can be more serious and require treatment. In children, abnormal murmurs are usually caused by congenital heart disease. In adults, abnormal murmurs most commonly occur due to heart valve problems.

The most common causes of abnormal murmurs in children are when the baby is born with a structural heart problem (congenital heart defect), which includes:

Hole in the heart or heart shunts. Known as a heart leak, which is a hole in the septum / divider between the atrium and the chambers of the heart. A hole in the heart can be serious or not, depending on the size of the hole and its location.
Heart valve abnormalities. Congenital heart valve abnormalities are congenital abnormalities, but sometimes they are not discovered until adulthood. This includes the aortic valve thickening and narrowing (stenosis) or the valve not closing properly (regurgitation).

Other causes of abnormal murmurs are infections and conditions that damage the structure of the heart and are more common in children or the elderly.

Valve calcification. This hardening or thickening of the valve, as in mitral stenosis or aortic valve stenosis, can occur with age. The valves can become narrowed (stenotic), making it difficult for blood to flow to your heart, causing a murmur.
Endocarditis. Infection of the inner lining of your heart and valves usually occurs when bacteria or other germs from other parts of your body, such as your mouth, spread through your bloodstream and into your heart. When left untreated, endocarditis can damage or destroy your heart valves. This condition usually occurs in people who already have heart valve abnormalities.

How do you deal with a heart murmur?

Non-disease heart murmurs don't need treatment because they go away on their own. Meanwhile, for the treatment of heart murmurs caused by common heart problems are:

Take medicine

Taking medication is the main choice for heart murmurs that occur due to a problem with the heart. Quoted from the Mayo Clinic, some drugs that are usually prescribed include:

Blood thinners to prevent blood clots, such as aspirin, warfarin (Jantoven), clopidogrel (Plavix), apixaban (Eliquis), rivaroxaban (Xarelto), dabigatran (Pradaxa) and others.
Diuretic drugs to help remove excess fluid in the body.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor medication to help lower blood pressure (hypertension).
Beta blockers drugs to help normalize disturbed heart rhythms (arrhythmias).
Statin drugs to lower high cholesterol levels.

Surgical procedure

If the underlying cause of a heart murmur is a valve abnormality, a damaged valve, or a leaky valve, then surgery is the treatment. There are two procedures used to repair heart valves, namely:

Balloon valvuloplasty. This procedure is done to remove the narrowed valve. During balloon valvuloplasty, a small catheter filled with an expandable balloon is inserted into your heart, placed into the valve, and then expanded to help widen the narrowed valve.
Annuloplasty. In this procedure, your surgeon will tighten the tissue around the valve by placing an artificial ring. This allows the abnormal opening in the valve to close.
Cardiac structural repair. In this procedure, the surgeon replaces or shortens the cords that support the valves (chordae tendineae and papillary muscles) to improve structural support.
Valve leaflet repair. In valve leaflet repair, the surgeon will separate, cut or fold the valve cover (leaflet).

The treatment for heart murmurs varies widely. Therefore, the doctor will first evaluate your condition and its causes, then consider which treatment is most appropriate for you.