Heart Murmur

[li10up]

Well, the echo showed a small VSD. This is a small hole between the left and right ventricles. So, it's back to the cardiologist. I'm not sure I have much faith in him...he didn't even hear the murmur when he examined me. I have to admit I'm a bit puzzled as to how the MRI of my heart didn't show the VSD. Guess now I'll just have to do some more wait and see-ing. Anyone have any info? I'm thinking it can't be that big of a deal if I've lived with it all my life...he says it is most likely congenital.

[Zen]

I'm not sure I have much faith in him...he didn't even hear the murmur when he examined me.

I think they're hard to hear.
A med student found mine.
I was maybe 43 at the time.

[roadie gal]

The echo is much more likely to find the VSD than the MRI.

Hearing a quiet murmur can be very dependent on the quietness of the room that you're in. If there's a lot of background noise they can be very hard to hear. If I can hear a murmur in the ER then it's at least a level 5 out of 6. Anything less and it can't be heard. They can also vary in loudness with your position (lying vs sitting or standing), your heart rate, your respiratory rate. It's not that simple.

The seriousness of a VSD varies with the size of the hole and the symptoms that you're having.

[Bron]

I think they're hard to hear.
A med student found mine.
I was maybe 43 at the time.

Yup. Mine was only found when I was 27 and even if doctors know it's there they often can't hear it.

VSD is the most common heart defect. Quite a lot of people don't even know they have one and it doesn't affect their lives in any way.

Don't let it get to you - the problem with modern diagnostics is that they can find some sort of "abnormality" in just about every person and usually they are nothing to worry about.

[li10up]

It's hard not to let it bother me a little bit. After all, I found this out AFTER complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath. So, it's not like I imagined symptoms AFTER finding out about this. My symptoms led to finding this. I'm not a hypocondriac...I've had the same handful of issues for years that I've let the docs slide on...but not this one...there's potentially too much at stake. It will be fine with me if they end up telling me it's nothing to worry about but not until they ask the questions and run the tests that need to be done to be SURE.

[three]

I've been wondering how you're doing and wanted to bump the post to check in. I'll send a PM with some additional information I gathered for you. Hope you're well.

[Bike Diva]

I was in my 20's when I found out I had a heart murmur. Official geek techno term for it is mitrial valve prolapse or something like that.

Every year I go in for a yearly physical and they hook me up to the EKG machine - takes just a couple of minutes. Always says my heart is healthy as a horse. Every 5 years I go to the hospital for an Echo Cardiogram. Kind of like an ultrasound for the heart. Again, healthy as a horse.

The only thing I have to do is take antibiotics before going in for surgery. The only surgery I've ever had is getting my appendix taken out 2 years ago.

I'm 44 years old now, carrying a few extra pounds, and a long distance, recreational bike rider. Mostly a roadie although I also own a mountain bike and a beach cruiser.

I've done 2 century rides, bunches of metric centuries and am currently training for our local MS150 ride (2 day, 150 mile road bike ride). I ride ride between 40 and 150 miles per week depending on my schedule and usually go to a weekly spinning glass at the gym. No problems with my heart, I have a murmur but so do a lot of people. As long as I keep getting regular check ups everything should be okay dokay.