What is a heart murmur and what should i do differently now?

i went to see my doc about a head injury,he checked my heart too and said of course your aware you have a heart murmur and when i said no,he seemed taken back.He sent me off for ecg and i am awaiting results....i saw the ecg print out and it looks like i am missing 1 in four beats and the fifth is half . So its 123miss then half 123 miss half etc

Thanks for any answers,i should point out that i had collapsed lungs when younger twice each side and have had plurectomy's done.I am 6 foot tall about 12 to 13 stone and 44 yrs old

Missing a beat is an arrythmia and not necessarily a murmur which is an irregularity in blood flow through the heart) An ECG picks up the electrical impulses in the heart, some of which need treatment (Usually those associated with slow or rapid heartbeats). Murmurs are seen with ECHO cardiograms (sonograms). They check the valves and their functioning (opening and closing properly). For murmurs, you are more at risk for a heart infection from bacteria found along the GI tract. The only recommendation is to brush and floss your teeth really well to keep your mouth healthy to help prevent the possible heart infection. Seriously malfunctioning valves get replacement valves. (you'd have noticed getting dizzy or passing out with stress and strain)

Heart Murmurs

What causes heart murmurs?
Heart murmurs are most often caused by defective heart valves. A stenotic (sten-OT'ik) heart valve has a smaller-than-normal opening and can't open completely. A valve may also be unable to close completely. This leads to regurgitation, which is blood leaking backward through the valve when it should be closed.

Murmurs also can be caused by conditions such as pregnancy, fever, thyrotoxicosis (thi"ro-toks"ih-KO'sis) (a diseased condition resulting from an overactive thyroid gland) or anemia.

A diastolic (di"as-TOL'ik) murmur occurs when the heart muscle relaxes between beats. A systolic (sis-TOL'ik) murmur occurs when the heart muscle contracts. Systolic murmurs are graded by intensity (loudness) from one to six. A grade 1/6 is very faint, heard only with a special effort. A grade 6/6 is extremely loud. It's heard with a stethoscope slightly removed from the chest.

I do not have one, but knew a guy who does. He played basketball at home, but it was hard for him. He had to take lots of breaks. He stayed thin by walking and eating right. As long as you take care of yourself, and are careful with how you treat yourself when excited, happy, angry, sad, worried (extreme emotions), your heart will be okay. A doctor can talk to you more about it.

Correction: I do not have one all the time. The part of the advice from "As long as you take care of yourself" on came from when I was advised about mine. I forgot to say also you have to have a good potassium and iron intake. A normal one, but a good one.

My husband is 30 and has a mummer and it has never effected him in anyway. We sometimes forget about.

Hello,

I've got a heart murmer.
I'm 65 years old and had this murmer for several years.

I belong to a long distance walking group and regularly walk cross-country (up and down steep hills) covering anything between 10 to 50 miles non-stop

Of course there are different types of murmer but I will not allow it to rule my life. General rule of thumb - it it hurts, don't do it - but that doesn't necessarily mean it's your heart murmer that's causing problems. You could be unfit.

I have recently started weightlifting training and it's my ambition to enter for an over 65 year old body building competition. At the moment I'm hurting, but that's not the heart problem - it's using muscles I'm not used to using.

It's very easy to say, "Oh my God, I've got a heart murmer. I'll spend the rest of my life watching TV." But that's not really living, is it?

All the same, you must get advice from the Doc before you jump in the deep end.

I was diagnosed with Mvp (Mitral Valve Prolapse....heart murmur) many years ago. The first thing the doctor asked me, was if I'd ever had rheumatic fever. I have no idea if I ever did as a child. I have the murmur, & it's something I have learned to live with.