9 Month Old Diagnosed with Heart Murmur

My 2-year-old daughter was diagnosed with this at her annual check-up and our dr. said it is very common and that most kids grow out of it. She said we could x-ray her heart if we wanted to be sure, but that it seemed to be fine and as long as she is active - running playing without shortness of breathe or anything weird than she is ok. So I've been watching her and she is fine, we go for her 3-year-old checkup in 2 months so we will see. I have two friends whose kids have /had a heart murmur and are 6/7 yrs old and are fine now. My best friend who is 31 has had a heart murmur her whole life and was active in sports, etc growing up, now she has 3 kids & 1 on the way....so don't be nervous, your baby will be ok :)

First, Many blessing to you and your family at this time. I know anything that has to do with our children's health is nerve raking, I am a first time mom of a 7 month old boy and the just got his first cold and it was dreadful to me. But I want to tell you that I've been living healthy for almost 33 years now with a heart murmur. So many prayers for all of you and I know everything will be fine!

Dear Couetenay J,

Heart murmurs are common. Wait til you see what the results from the hospital. I developed a heart murmur back in High School when I got viral pneumonia. I have to start taking medicines for the murmur. My doctors also said that I had to take antibiotics when I went to the dentist for any dental work.

Please don't worry. I would also get a second opinion after you get the results from 2-D echo. I'm living a full life with it.

I'll say a prayer and hope your child's outcome is not a serious on.

Keep me posted.

G*D BLESS...

G. H.

I have twin daughters, now 16 years old. One of them was diagnosed with a heart murmur around the same age. Her pediatrician at the time said she had an extra heartbeat and not a hole in her heart. Both are considered murmurs. She was tested at the time with doctors from the same hospital. They told me not to worry about it and she would probably out grow it. Jazmin does have not have any physical problems aside from exercise induced asthma. That just means that she uses her inhaler before any strenuous physical activity. She is a member of the marching band and does not have any problems at all.

It is something that needs to be monitored but I agree that it will probably go away or can be managed.

I hope everything turns out great.

Hi courtney, ... I, myself had a heart murmur when I was a baby and it did dissapear after I was 2 years old.

Hi. At my son's last checkup (15 month) his pediatrician noticed a heart murmur. He said it is very common and one out of every two kids will develop one. He sent us to a cardiologist in Boca and she heard nothing. She said not to worry and come back when my son is three. I think you shouldn't worry yourself until after your appointment. It may just be nothing. Good luck.

They found a heart murmur in my son also when he was about 6 months old, then they didn't hear it at 9 months, then they heard it again at 12 months.. He also had to go to a cardiologist and get a echo... It was an innocent murmur (meaning he'll grow out of it)..... They still hear it but after looking at the chambers of his heart the cardiologist said it's NOTHING to worry about EVER.... It's VERY common.... I, like you was very worried!!!!! i would not be worried (even though I know it's easier said than done)... Good luck, I'm SURE it's innocent...

I too have a slight murmur, and I have three wonderful kids and lead a vigorous life style at age 60+. Hopefully your daughter's murmur won't sound off any alarm bells.

Our now 16 month old went throughthe same thing and he outgrew it. He had a small hole in an artery but it closed up and he now has a clean bill of health. I know it's very scary but it is common.

Over the years I've heard it is fairly common for children to have heart murmurs. I believe most of them are not dangerous. Actually, I had a cousin who was born with a heart murmur and never developed any heart condition. And let me tell you, that was over fifty years ago, when cardiology was a much younger specialty. Do have it monitored, but keep the faith.

C., No need to worry, I went thru the same experience with my daughter. We had to see a cardiologist once a week for 4 weeks after my daughter was born. She is now 11 years old and once in a while she has to do an echo during her physicals, especially if she wants to join any sports. Her murmur has not gotten any bigger, her heart beat comes out irregular and to make sure everything is ok they send her to get an echo or a cardio. Be careful when you take your child to the dentist when she get's older.....if she needs any procedures done besides the basic cleaning the dentist has to know and your doctor has to sign off on it, there are certain drugs a dentist can not use on a heart murmur patient. My husband also has a murmur and he still gets clearance from his doctor when he goes to the dentist for any major surgery. They can live with it, no problems!!!!

Hi,
I am on the same boat as you. When my son was 1st born the Dr. heard a slight murmur & had the cardiologist check him out before he went home. It was there so she said they usually grow out of it & she would like to see him @ 3ths. Three mths old & it's still there so she wanted another follow up which we just went to yesterday.
It turns out he still has it. She did a eco & a 2D sonogram. You can see a very small gap on the wall which divides the right from the left. So you have extra blood going from one side to the other. This is called a PFO. The Dr told me that there is nothing life threatning about this , people are sometimes diagnosed with this by the doctor & don't get refered to the cardiologist, & can go about life normal.
There still is a chnace this can close but for me not to worry . She said take it from me as a mom do not worry.
Even though she said that I will still worry but not as much.
She wants to see him back in 1yr to check him over.

My 1st son at 3 mths the Dr. heard a murmur but a few months later it went away. My ex husbabnd has a murmur so we thought our son's will stay. But it didn't & we were glad.

But from I have been told if the child does have one he can still have a normal life...but might have the need to be pre-medicated if having surgical procedure & having work done at the dentist.

Good luck with your little one. If you would like a 2nd opinion & need a cardiologist let me know...my Dr is very sweet & thorough & has offices in Hollywood , Weston & shares a space on Plantation.

L.

Courtney,

As a mother with a baby born with a congenital heart defect, please don't worry. Murmurs are very common. They will just want to watch her, but it won't change her ability to play sports or do anything other children her age can do. Antibiotics are not recommended any more prior to dental work. The American Heart Association changed this last year. After many echo's on my daughter, I can suggest a couple of things. First, don't sedate her. They will probably give her a little sugar water if she will take a pacifier, they will dip it in there. It usually works. Also, take some bubbles to blow at her during the procedure. It keeps her distracted. Ask the tech or doctor doing the echo if you can lie down on the table with your daughter. The echo doesn't hurt but can be very scary for her. If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to send me a message. Everything will be fine!

C., I have a heart murmur and I'm fine. I really don't know too much about heart murmurs so I cannot offer anything more. Please don't worry as worrying will not change a single thing of the outcome.

Dear C.,

My son was diagnosed with a heart mumur when he was a young infant. The testing showed that he had a nickel sized hole in his heart. This eventually closed on it's own in about a year. Try not to panic, the hardest part is getting your baby to sit still for the testing, if he will not you should request mild sedation because movement during the test will mess up the results.
Good luck to you and your baby,
R. M.

Both of my children were diagnosed with leaky valves aka "heart murmurs". Their cardiologist is Dr. Aguirre; he is affiliated with Joe DiMaggio. The man is absolutely incredible. He was quite reassuring and accurate. My little one's valves are now almost entirely closed (he was just 5). My older one's valves are slowly closing (she will be 7) but her case was more complicated. Both have very active lifestyles. The only thing they need to do is to take antibiotics before going to the dentist for a cleaning and before any invasive medical procedure.