Heart Murmurs & 12 Yr. Old Daughter (Editied for Clarification)

If she has gone this long, without anyone noticing it or a problem, it could very well be innocent. We used to see many of those in Ped. Cardiology. Goto a pediatric cardiologist.

My son had an "abnormal heart beat" at his PCPs office she sent him for an EKG and chest xray.

The final results were that yes it was "abnormal" but fell into an okay/acceptable range. And the chest xray was normal.

So even though they heard something "abnormal" it turned out to be just fine.

Oh and the EKG was so fast...it almost took longer to put all the sticky tabs on him than to measure his heart rhythm. And it doesn't hurt one bit.

Hopefully, it will turn out to be abnormally normal like our situation did...

Hugs!!

My son has a murmur due to an extra piece of tissue on his heart the "twangs" like a violin string--per the cardiologist. Nothing to worry about and can easily be missed. I don't know how your area is and what doc you see but my daughter went for her sports physical/yearly exam last week Monday. To calm her concerns, we also had an EKG. Since they try to find these ASAP--esp for kids, I called on Monday and we got it scheduled for Tuesday. We got an all clear, all normal.

A lot of insurance programs do require the PCP visit first but any chance you could get the number to the place you would take her to see what their wait time is like? At least you will have an idea.
I do know a girl that had a murmur and could not play competitive sports. But she was still on the team as a helper and was able to go to games to cheer the players on. I think it was volleyball and track.

I know it is tempting to seek medical information from a site like this.

DON'T!!

I have a child with severe congenital heart defects. I would not dream of relying on the experiences of the WONDERFUL group of moms here regarding my child's health issues. I consult her cardiologist.

That is what I pay her for.

I also make sure I have reviewed 'peer reviewed' literature on her issues/meds etc so I can be a full partner in her health care.

I suggest you do same!

Hoping it all works out!

my younger son has a weird murmur that was discovered when he was not quite 2. the murmur itself isn't a problem. he still has it, and played baseball and basketball and rode horses and go-karts and skateboarded and still snowboards and works out at the gym. one cardiologist put it 'everyone's heart plays a unique song, but dylan's is a stranger melody than most.'
what the 1st echo DID uncover was a hidden case of patent ductus arteriosis, which needed to be addressed immediately. if he hadn't had the murmur, we wouldn't have been tipped off, so we're very grateful for the odd music his heart plays.
he does have to take prophylactic antibiotics before any sort of surgery, but that's because of the ductus, not the murmur.
i know it's no good telling you not to worry. but the echo will give you the info you need, and please know that many, many people have benign murmurs.
khairete
S.

Good Question. Heart defects are the #1 birth defect-- 1 in 100 are born with a heart defect. Our son has a complex congenital heart defect that required 3 surgeries (1st one at 11 days old).

I'm glad you're choosing the "better safe than sorry" route by following up with a cardiologist. Many people live long full lives with innocent murmurs. She could have a tiny whole in her heart that does not need intervention. Or, it could be something major that you'll be thankful they caught!

My son has had dozens of echos and EKGs. He's a boy, so he doesn't mind taking his shirt off. I would ask the nurse or your PCM how they can do it with an adolescent girl. Also, talk to your daughter beforehand about the procedures. They're not invasive, but they will be in her personal space touching her chest.

My son has had a murmur since birth. He was diagnosed with an atrial septal defect. In his case, it was small and he has had no restrictions in his activity. His last echo was in 2013 when he was 6 and they couldn't detect the defect anymore, but he has to get rechecked in 2018 to confirm. So technically, he still has the diagnosis.

The cardiologist will probably do both an echo and EKG. The echo is an ultrasound of the heart and she will need to have at least her shirt off. The EKG is where they measure the heart activity with the leads on the chest. Both are noninvasive and they can probably tell you that day what is going on.

The PCP is being cautious. They don't have the specialized equipment to determine if it's something serious and don't want to be liable, especially since you are dealing with sports. If you daughter hasn't had any problems up till now, it is more than likely nothing too serious. Good luck!

Although I would follow up with your daughter's PCP, your daughter really needs to see a cardiologist. Without the echo, I am not sure how much more info your PCP can give you. I would make that appointment as soon as possible so she can hopefully get cleared to play sports.

EDIT - I need to get referrals from our PCP too. When my daughter started with acne I just called the PCP and asked for a referral to the dermatologist office. I would still call now to get an appointment with the cardiologist. It could take months to get in to see the doctor and I would not want to delay making the appointment for another week.

Just wanted to add that I also have a murmur, diagnosed at 17. I'm in my late 30's, had 2 totally normal pregnancies, and while I may have some mom-chub, I have hiked the Grand Canyon a few times :). You certainly want to get a full diagnosis and learn about her specific condition, but don't freak out too much!

I had an EKG a couple of years ago. In regards to whether or not she needs to be bare chested, no she won't. They will have her take off her shirt and bra if she has one and give her a gown to wear. They will need to pull the gown back to put the leads on, but I was never fully exposed.

I had my EKG done right there in the same building where my primary care physician is within an hour of my initial appointment. More than likely they want to do the EKG before referral to a cardiologist so that you aren't making an unnecessary visit. My EKG came back normal and there was no reason to see a cardiologist.

One of my dearest friends was born with a complicated congenital heart defect and she is very involved in heart defect circles. What used to be brushed off as "only a heart murmur" is being taken more seriously now because there have been so many young athletes who have died because of undetected heart defects. In some areas kids have to have an EKG as part of their athletic physical to rule out undetected CHDs. Like someone else mentioned 1 in 100 babies are born with some kind of heart defect. That's a lot of babies!!

If they decide she needs to see a cardiologist insist on a referral to a pediatric cardiologist. Pediatric cardiologists are trained to work with CHDs. Regular cardiologists normally work with heart disease. There is a huge difference between the two. When my friend had to have heart surgery a couple of years ago (in her late 30s) she had the surgery done by a pediatric cardiologist. She couldn't find a non-peds cardiologist who would even consider doing her surgery because they didn't have the training and didn't know how to do it.

More than likely this will be nothing to worry about. My brother had a heart murmur and wrestled from the time he was 5 all the way through college. He also played football in middle school and played baseball from the time he was 5 through high school.

Good luck! I pray all goes well.

I have a murmur, I'm 47 years old and have never had any issues, danced, ran track when I was a teen, and have worked out like a "regular" person (to varying degrees lol!) my whole life. Try not to worry, it's probably nothing :-)

I don't know a lot of murmurs but I do know a little. My mom has one and has to take antibotics before having dental work done. That's the extent of her limitations from that. My daughter has had one since birth and had to be checked at 3 months and again at 3 years. She has had no other symptoms, complications, or limitations. Her doctors said without any issues, she has the all clear for anything she wants except deep sea diving...for that she'd have to have it repaired to even possibly do it. He also said she would need to notify her doctors when she is of childbearing age so they could watch when/if she is pregnant. Additionally, she gets rechecked again at approx age 12.

I am however surprised that her doctor didn't detect it before age 12.

At my daughter's 12 year old check up, her doctor noticed a heart murmur for the first time. We went to see a cardiologist and had an echo and an ultrasound. Everything was completely normal. My daughter is very thin and it turns out that because she is so thin, the doctor was able to hear the normal swooshing of the blood in her heart (I guess it sounds exactly like a murmur.) Most doctors aren't able to hear this in regular size kids. Please don't panic- I know it's hard because I was freaked out too! It could turn out to be nothing.

I hate when insurance decides we can't see the right kind of doc without seeing theirs first. Please keep strong and don't let the PCP convince you it was a non-problem or anything. Make them let her see the cardiologist.