Heart Murmurs

Heart murmurs are extra sounds that we hear when we listen to the heart. Usually we hear two heart sounds - the first one is the closing of the valves between the atria and the ventricles, and the second being the closing of the valves between the ventricles and the blood vessels leading from them - the aorta from the left ventricle and the pulmonary artery from the right.

Murmurs can arise when the functioning of the valves is abnormal, when there is a defect in the wall between two of the chambers, when there is inflammation of the inner or outer lining of the heart, or simply as a result of normal blood flow. The structure of the chambers of the heart and the valves can be examined using ultrasound - a process known as echocardiography.
 
 
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