Heart murmurs are heart sounds associated with the beating of the heart. They can usually be heard by the examining doctor through the use of a stethoscope.
Murmurs can be either innocent or pathological.
An innocent murmur is due to normal turbulence and vibration as the blood passes through the heart and does not indicate present or future disease. Pathological murmurs may be due to congenital defects or heart disease. To some parents they can pose an unknown problem which, with a lack of knowledge, can lead to unnecessary anguish, particularly in the case of a new born baby when the murmur may only be innocent in nature. If a child will lie still and the examination room is quiet, an innocent murmur can generally be heard in almost every child. As the child grows older and the chest wall gets thicker, innocent murmurs become harder to hear yet they sometimes can be heard in some people right throughout life.