What Is a Heart Murmur?
A heart murmur is a whooshing sound between the beats that a doctor hears through a stethoscope. The whoosh is just an extra noise that the blood makes as it flows through the heart.
Murmurs have grades. Grade 1 is the softest-sounding murmur, and Grade 6 is the loudest. A murmur graded 4, 5, or 6 is so loud you can actually feel a rumbling from it under the skin if you put your hand on the person's chest.
Most heart murmurs don't mean anything is wrong. Doctors may call these "innocent," "functional," or "normal" murmurs. They are caused by blood rushing through the valves in a normal heart and are nothing to worry about.
Even though most murmurs do not mean anything is wrong, sometimes a heart problem can cause a murmur. The heart may have a hole in it, a heart valve may leak, or a valve may not open all the way.
A heart murmur is a whooshing sound between the beats that a doctor hears through a stethoscope. The whoosh is just an extra noise that the blood makes as it flows through the heart.
Murmurs have grades. Grade 1 is the softest-sounding murmur, and Grade 6 is the loudest. A murmur graded 4, 5, or 6 is so loud you can actually feel a rumbling from it under the skin if you put your hand on the person's chest.
Most heart murmurs don't mean anything is wrong. Doctors may call these "innocent," "functional," or "normal" murmurs. They are caused by blood rushing through the valves in a normal heart and are nothing to worry about.
Even though most murmurs do not mean anything is wrong, sometimes a heart problem can cause a murmur. The heart may have a hole in it, a heart valve may leak, or a valve may not open all the way.
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