What Is a Murmur?
A heart murmur is the sound of turbulent blood flow that can be heard with a stethoscope. When the blood is flowing smoothly it is quiet, much like a softly flowing kitchen tap. When the tap is turned up and the flow becomes turbulent it makes an audible sound. Similarly, when the flow of blood through the heart becomes turbulent a murmur can be heard.
There are commonly four reasons why murmurs occur:
A narrowed valve
When a valve develops narrowing (stenosis), the speed of blood flow through the reduced opening increases causing turbulence.
A leaking valve
When a valve develops leakiness (incompetence or regurgitation), the blood can flow backwards through the valve when it is supposed to be closed causes turbulence.
A hole in the heart
When there is a hole between chambers of the heart blood will flow from the chamber with higher pressure to the chamber with lower pressure. This can cause turbulence if the flow is fast.
Increased blood flow
Sometimes there can be an increased flow of blood through a normal heart that can cause turbulence. This can be found when a patient has a low blood count (anaemia), has an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), fighting a severe infection (sepsis), or even a normal pregnancy.
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