Murmur

From Ganfyd

Usually heart murmur, a noise produced by the flow of blood.

Murmurs are produced by turbulent flow where there is::

• Leakage or restriction of flow at heart valves,
• Abnormal or persisting communications between higher and lower pressure parts of the circulation
• Congenital or acquired stenosis of arteries.

A normal heart working at higher than normal output will produce flow murmurs which are not otherwise significant.

See:-

• Mitral incompetence
• Aortic stenosis
• Endocarditis
• Systole
• Patent ductus arteriosus
• Patent foramen ovale
• VSD
• ASD

Describing murmurs

Murmur:- Timing in cycle loudness character point best heard at radiation/extent of audibility alterations See also Cardiovascular examination

Several systems for describing murmurs exist and in specialist units are probably reproducible by repeated calibration and agreement of the listeners.

Phonocardiography was, like the experiments with intense light which ceased when X-rays became available, an early attempt to apply technology to investigation largely overtaken by newer technologies such as echocardiography.

With the increasing availability of recording facilities, storage of multimedia data and electronic patient records, and the introduction of electonic stethoscopes the potential for direct comparison of today's murmur with that of the previous consultation is increasing.