I posted a couple of days ago about my son being borderline failure to thrive - I got some great advice from the hive! My husband took my son back for a follow up visit yesterday (the doctor wanted her colleague who is far more experienced to have a look at my son), and the new doctor doesn't seem at all concerned about his weight (didn't even weigh him!) but listened to his chest and confirmed what the first doctor thought, that he has a murmur that was not detected at birth or at his 6 week, 4 month or 6 month apt. We travel on the 15th of December to Canada (24 hours of flights all up) and the doctor wants him to be looked at by a cardiologist before we go, as there can be some danger with pressure changes if its a reflux issue.
Anyway - by pulling strings and dropping every name we could a paediatric cardiologist is seeing us at 715 Friday morning (!) - so we'll have all our answers then...I just wanted to know if anyone had any experience with murmurs, VSDs, or heart issues, and what came of it all for your little one? I'm trying not to worry as I know they are very common, but its hard!
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my mom has had a murmur her whole life and it has never been a problem for her.
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My daughter has a small one that wasn't detected until she was over a year. It's a really small one so pediatrician never had us explore it further. We've flown with her several times and haven't had any issues. Best wishes.
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My DD is two weeks and we're in the thick of the same. She had an echo cardiogram at the hospital that confirmed it, and she has another next week to see if it's still there. At her well baby appointments, they've been checking her blood pressure to make sure her circulation is normal, but other than that, we're just supposed to look for signs of cardiac distress (extreme fussiness, difficulty breathing). Anyone we've mentioned it to seems to have a story of someone who has/had one without it being a problem, so like you, I'm trying not to worry too much. It's hard though!
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I've had a murmur my whole life but it wasn't detected until I was 18! Mine is from a prolapsed mitral valve which means I have some blood flowing backwards in the wrong direction every time my heart pumps. It has never posed a problem for me.
Sending good thoughts to your family and your son.
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I was born with a whole in my heart which closed when I was around 6. Because of the hole, there was some damage to my valve and one of them does not close all the way, resulting in a heart murmur. It has not adversely affected me at all, just lots of doctors appointments my entire life.
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Our ped heard a murmur at D's 9 month appointment and we immediately went to see a pediatric cardiologist. He got an EKG and and ECHO, and the ECHO revealed at least one small hole on his atrial septum, the wall separating the chambers of the atria - it's called ASD (atrial septal defect). The doctor preferred to let it go for 6 months and see what happens. 6 months later, the ECHO revealed that there were actually 3 or 4 small holes. The doctor told us that he still wanted to wait another 6 months to see what happens. If the holes are still present, he will send us to the cardiac cath lab to see if the holes can be closed by cath or if it'll require open heart surgery. We have our next appointment with him on Jan 5 to find out what our next step is. Praying that they've closed, and if not, that they can be closed by cath.
All this to say, everything I've read says that once the problem is addressed, kids tend to have few long-term effects. Best of luck to you and your LO! Please feel free to wall me if you want more info, and keep us posted!!
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My mom has had a heart murmur her whole life and it's never caused issues. Our LO has a heart murmur also and has been to the cardiologist a few times. From what I understand they are quite common and for most babies it goes away as they grow. I don't know all the technicalities, but there were three areas of concern in our LO's heart. One has already resolved itself and we don't have to go back to the cardiologist until spring. I am hoping for the very best for your LO.
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DD had a medium sized VSD (murmur detected at birth) and was seen by cardiology at one week old. We saw the cardiologist again at 1 month (no repeat tests) and then again at 3 months. The VSD had closed at that time and we were discharged from cardiology. Between the first and last appointments, our cardiologist said their were no restrictions on DD's activity (she was a symptomatic).
Expect babe to have an EKG and an echo. Babe needs to be quiet while the tests are being done, so if your DS will take a pacifier or you can get him nice and cozy/napping, he will do awesome!
It is scary, I know... write out a list of questions, take all the time you need at the appointment and take comfort in the fact that many many parents have gone through this and have happy and healthy babes!
Take care! And safe travels home to our wonderful country!
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Our pediatrician caught our LO's heart murmur at his 2 month appointment. It worries me because my husband has a prolapsed valve and my MIL just had surgery to repair a heart valve. Our pediatrician said he likes to wait and see on heart murmurs until age one because they tend to go away by then. If it's not gone by his 1 year appointment, he will refer us to a pediatric heart specialist.
The good news after going through the prolapsed heart valve diagnosis with my husband is that they tend to not need intervention until much later in life and my MIL recovered very easily and is doing very well.
I hope that you get good news from the specialist and that this is a murmur that your LO grows out of eventually!
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My daughter's murmur was detected when she was about 6 weeks old. When we saw a cardiologist she was diagnosed with a ventricular septal defect (VSD) and an atrial septal defect (ASD), which are holes in both the bottom and top chamber of the heart. Thankfully, they were on the smaller side. For the first few months of her life, we had to watch her for signs of heart failure (which was so distressing to me) and have had to take her to the cardiologist for EKGs and echocardiograms every 3-4 months. She is now almost 18 months old and her VSD completely closed on its own as she developed. She still has a small ASD, but her cardiologist thinks it will probably close on its own too. I was really terrified as a new mom having this diagnosed- it sounds awful. However, now that we've been through it I've realized how common minor congenital heart defects can be and that they've made very little impact on my daughter's life. She is a normal, very active and feisty toddler now. We weren't ever given restrictions on flying, but I've never asked specifically. I do know that sometimes heart murmurs can occur without any structural heart defects, especially in kids. I hope you get all the answers that you need at your appointment...I understand your worry and hope that you get good news.
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My LO has a murmur that was detected at her 2mo appointment. The doctor told us it was minor and we could take a "wait and see" approach or send us to a cardiologist, and that she "could be convinced either way." I opted to take the referral to a cardiologist because better safe than sorry. The appointment was a long morning but not too bad. They did an EKG and that was indeterminate so they did an ultrasound of her heart. It turned out to be nothing, a murmur but no structural defect. The cardiologist told us it was absolutely nothing to worry about. Not even a "no big deal" a literally "nothing." Doesn't need to be checked again, don't need to keep an eye on it, don't need to disclose it to insurance or sports forms or anything.
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My LO had a murmur that was detected at birth. We saw a cardiologist at around 3 months old, and he told me it is what is called an "innocent" murmur--should not have any effect whatsoever on his health. It is still there at 2 years of age, but hasn't caused any issues at all.
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E has a murmur and it gets listened for at her appts, but the dr said it will likely close. I've had one my entire life and didn't even know until in was 25!!!! Mom said I was diagnosed as a baby. Never caused me any problems
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No murmur, but LO was born with a small heart defect that was found via ultrasound. She was checked out by the pediaticiac cardiologist right after she was born, and has had regular EKGs and ultrasounds of her heart. Thankfully, the issue has corrected itself so she will not need surgery. Unfortunately she was recently diagnosed with a separate heart issue, SVT, but that is even more minor and should not hinder her life at all! We had to monitor her with a take-home EKG thing for a couple of months, and may need to do that again in the future.
Thank goodness for advances in medicine!!!
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I was born with an ASD and had surgery to close it when I was four. It never gave me any health problems before or after the surgery. Even after the closure, I had a small murmur that went away sometime during my teenage years. The only ways it's ever really affected me are that my high school wouldn't let me play contact sports (which was silly, because I was in perfect health) and my gyno wanted me to see a cardiologist before conceiving. (I did, and passed everything with flying colors!) I do have a "zipper" scar, but it's been part of me for so long, it's never bothered me.
I know it can be scary, but modern heart surgery is so advanced, most of the time problems can be easily corrected. Wishing you lots of luck and good health!
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Wow, thank you so much everyone!!! You've really put my mind at ease. Now I can go back to worrying that he's too small
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@ScarletBegonia: how small is "too small"? My LO dropped in % from 75% at 1 mo to 44% at 6mo. And she seems to be the smallest 6mo I know (15lb 13oz). But my doc doesn't seem concerned at all. Drooly = well hydrated and chipmunk cheeks and chunky thighs mean she's getting what she needs, so says the doc.
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@Mae: He's 8.5 months and about 17.5lbs - that puts him in the 10th or so percentile. He was born in the 50th and has been steadily dropping. Again, I'm trying not to worry cause everyone says when they start crawling/pulling up they steady right out on the weight gain - he eats like a horse and is SUPER active. But of course I can't help but worry!!
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Update - we saw te paeds cardiologist this morning and all looks well, he has an extremely slight ventricular septal defect, that the doctor is confident will resolve itself by the time he's 5. In fact, the doctor said "I don't want to see a child that healthy back in my office til he's 5!!" which was comforting to hear
Thanks for the stories and advice - was very calming when my mind was spinning out of control! -
yay, so glad to hear!
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@ScarletBegonia: That's great news!
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@ScarletBegonia: Yay good news!
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@ScarletBegonia: great news!!
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