Most children referred to The Heart Center at Cincinnati Children's have congenital heart disease, a condition present since birth. And only a small percentage of those will require treatment, according to Dr. Beekman.
Pediatricians often pick up mild heart defects during routine examinations.
They may find small holes in the heart, with no symptoms, or blocked, leaky heart valves. If the pediatrician hears a murmur while listening to the child's heart, a follow-up visit to a pediatric cardiologist at Cincinnati Children's may be the next step. Normal hearts sometimes make innocent murmurs that can be heard only through a stethoscope. Of the 6,000 patients who visit Cincinnati Children's Heart Center each year, the majority comes because of heart murmurs. Through a physical exam and an electrocardiogram, the doctors can determine whether the murmur is the normal vibration of blood flowing in and out of the heart or whether the sound is caused by a mild defect.