February 22, 2024- Detecting a heart murmur on your own can be tricky. A murmur is an extra heart sound that can be heard by a stethoscope. Several factors can cause a murmur. It could be a heart valve problem or a hole in the heart.
The valves in your heart act as doors between the chambers, or rooms, of the heart. In the case of a murmur, a valve may be tight or leaky. When heart valves are narrow, this is called stenosis. A murmur also could be from a leaky valve, called regurgitation.
Sometimes, a murmur sounds like a humming sound, which can be faint or loud. It might be temporary or persistent. Heart murmurs may be present at birth or develop later in life during pregnancy, phases of rapid growth like adolescence, or from a fever or anemia.
Patients will need to undergo testing to determine the cause of the heart murmur. Your healthcare professional likely will order an ultrasound picture of your heart, called an echocardiogram, or echo, to show detailed images of your heart’s valves, chambers, structure and function.