Parents might well worry if they’re told that their baby or child has a heart murmur. But heart murmurs are very common, and many children are found to have one at some point. Most murmurs are not a cause for concern and don?t require any treatment. However, as a competent healthcare professional it?s important you recognise the harmless ones from ones requiring further investigation, and can offer reassurance to parents.

What is a heart murmur"
The heart contains four muscular chambers that pump blood around the body in order to circulate oxygen from the lungs. Four valves also control the flow of blood through the chambers of the heart, both in and out.
When you listen to a person?s heartbeat, you?re listening to the sound of the valves closing. Sometimes however an extra sound can be heart between beats; it?s what?s known as a ?heart murmur? and is created by turbulent blood flow. What causes heart murmurs in babies and children"
In normal heart murmurs, blood is being pumped through the heart correctly. This normal blood flow is called an innocent, or normal, murmur. More than 66% of all children – as well as around 75% of all newborns – have normal heart murmurs.
The problem is when a heart murmur results in abnormal blood flow, as this can be down to a structural defect in the heart requiring further evaluation.
Normal heart murmurs are quite often louder when the child has a cold or fever, and usually (but not always) the murmur will disa...