asthma????

k this is a long one but a year ago my daughter got sick with the swine flu....she was in icu for weeks with a large pleural effusion.....she was hooked up to a chest tube for weeks.....anyhow she never fully recovered from this ordeal. She is tired VERY often, she gets weak and faint when she stands up after sitting for a while, she has frequent chest pains...short jabs almost, any stomache flu or cold makes her faint,,,,and any physical exertion causes her shortness of breath...so we still see her pediatrician regularily.....and because of our complaints she sent us to see a lung specialist.....he ran some breathing tests and has ruled out asthma...said her lungs are completely fine....however during his exam he found her to have a heart murmur which he said sounded like an asd. Now when she was a baby she had a heart murmur that went away after a year....now she is 13 and he tells me it's back but it's probably nothing. WHat I am wondering is can her illness cause this to come back and are all of her symptoms  related to her murmur seeing how it's not asthma? I know most murmurs are nothing to worry about but her symptoms we didn't imagine...I mean for a year she's been treated for asthma cause we all...docs included...assumed that was what was wrong after she was so ill....now I am affraid something serious will get overlooked because well....it's "only a murmur"

[bsmsl]

I suggest you request a referral to a pediatric cardiologist.  Illness can cause heart mumurs and other cardio issues.  Having it throughly checked by a cardiologist should put your mind at ease.  I would also suggest that you read as much as you can about the affects of Swine Flu and heart murmurs in general.  It could be unrelated to the fluor it could be related to her treatment while she was sick.

Praying that you find answers.  Take care.