15 mo. old with heart murmer

  My 15 mo. old son was diagnosed with a heart murmer by his pediatrician at a regular check-up yesterday.  The pediatrician said that it was nothing to be worried about unless he still has it when he is 2 years old.  He thought that the murmer was caused by blood flowing through tendon-like strings located somewhere near the valves of the heart.  Please give me more information on this.  I have read about "innocent heart murmers" in your archives and it doesn't mention this type of a murmer.  Please Help....I'm very concerned.
  Thank you.
Dear Kristi:
Innocent heart murmurs are soft murmurs (abnormal sounds heard through a stethoscope) that are often heard in children, that go away with aging. The murmurs are caused by blood flowing through the heart and valves; it sounds like this is what your pediatrician was trying to explain to you. Without actually listening to the murmur, I cannot say whether it is innocent or represents a real heart valve problem or structural problem with the heart. If your child is growing well and appears healthy, it makes a serious heart condition associated with the murmur much less likely.
I hope you find this information useful.  Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only.  Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter.   The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.