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Heart murmurs and physical activity

Page history last edited by Helena Baert 15 years, 4 months ago

First Author: StanleyS

Second Author: Kimberly Smith

KImberly S

Heart Murmurs and Physical Activity

Physical Activity: any body movement carried out by the skeletal muscles and requiring energy

Physical activity improves your health, fitness, and reduces the risk of many chronic diseases. ^[1]

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* Diagnosing/ Understanding a heart murmur...

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What exactly is a heart murmur???

A normal heartbeat makes two sounds which are the sounds of your heart valves closing. Heart murmurs are abnormal sounds during your heartbeat cycle made by turbulent blood in or near your heart.
Heart murmurs can be found at birth which is called "congenital" or it can develop later in life. A murmur isn't a disease however.
Most heart murmurs are harmless and don't need treatment, (I personally have one of these) but some heart murmurs may require follow-up tests to be sure the murmur isn't caused by a serious underlying heart condition. Treatment, if needed, is directed at the underlying cause of your heart murmurs.

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What causes heart murmurs?

Heart murmurs are usually caused by a defective heart valve that typically can't close completely. This in turn leads to regurgitation, which causes blood to travel backwards through the valve that should be closed. ^[5]

* Image of a normal heart and a heart with defects:

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Top 10 Symptoms:

Skin that appears blue, especially on your fingertips and lips
Swelling
Shortness of breath
Enlarged liver
Enlarged neck veins
Poor appetite and failure to grow normally (in infants)
Weight gain (in adults and children)
Heavy sweating with minimal or no exertion
Chest pain
Dizziness/ Fainting

Author's Personal Reflection

*Because of some of these symptoms mentioned above, heart murmurs can affect one's physical activity if it isn't an innocent murmur. Chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, and others make it difficult for someone to engage in physical activities. I personally have a heart murmur; however, I play sports all the time. Therefore, it is possible to engage in physical activity with a heart murmur, you just have to be careful if the murmur is serious.

Footnotes

http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/index.html ▲
Fahey, T. D., Insel P. M. & Roth, W. T. (2009), Fit & Well: Core concepts and labs in physical fitness and wellness. McGraw-Hill, New York: New York. (pg.200) ▲ ▲
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJiYUsMW-wQ ▲
https://ssl.search.live.com/health/article.aspx?id=articles%2fmc%2fpages%2f2%2fDS00727.html&qu=Heart+Murmur ▲
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4571 ▲
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/images/heart_murmur ▲