IntroductionDefinition
When listening to the heart, one can normally only hear so-called heart sounds. These reflect the beat of the heart and should be heard rhythmically and clearly. A heart murmur, on the other hand, is a sound that does not belong to the normal heartbeat.
Heart murmurs can exist without a disease value, but they can also indicate a heart defect or a disease of the heart valves. The doctor describes a heart murmur according to the time at which it occurs during normal heart action. When the heart muscle contracts and blood is forced from the heart into the body, this is called systole.
If a sound occurs during this process, it is called a systolic heart murmur or systole. When the heart muscle relaxes and the heart fills with blood again, this is called diastole. If a heart murmur is heard during this period, the doctor refers to it as a diastolic heart murmur or diastolic.
In addition to the timing, the physician can also describe the volume and type of the murmur. The volume is indicated on a scale from 1 to 6. The type of noise can describe, for example, whether the noise is declining or increasing. The conduction of the heart murmur, for example into the carotid artery, can also provide information about the cause.
Causes of heart murmurs
Many heart diseases are associated with heart murmurs of different types. The majority of diseases are valve defects, which can be congenital or acquired. The heart valves either no longer close properly so that blood can flow back (valve insufficiency) or they have become rigid due to tissue changes and no longer open properly (valve stenosis).
Various heart defects can also cause heart murmurs. The further examination should be left to a heart specialist (cardiologist). If a continuous, machine-like sound is heard, this may indicate a backflow from the left side of the heart to the right side (shunt connection).
If the heart murmur has a rubbing character when it is continuous, this may indicate pericardial disease, for example pericarditis. The pericardium encloses the heart and separates it from the other organs of the thorax. Heart murmurs that have no disease value are called accidental (random).
They occur particularly frequently in healthy children or adolescents, are very quiet and change with movement and change of position. Even when the heart is particularly active, turbulence can occur in the blood, which can lead to the development of a heart murmur. Here, too, the person affected does not need to worry, as this is not a pathological condition.