heart murmur/irregular heartbeat

[scwater22]

Hello,

I am a 19 year old female who was recently diagnosed with a heart murmur. I've also been experiencing what feels like an irregular heartbeat so I mentioned that and was put on a Holter Monitor for 24 hours. I haven't gotten those results back yet, and will have an echocardiogram next week. Until then, does anyone know of conditions that cause both a murmur and an irregular heartbeat that begin in the adult years? Thanks!

[Jerry_NJ]

I believe most cases of heart murmur are totally benign, nothing to worry about.  I also believe most people are unaware, so there's not even any discomfort.  I do not know if there are any relationships between a murmur and irregular heartbeats, but it sounds like you're on the right track to find out with the medical attention you are getting.

Let us know what how your tests come out, what they show.

Good luck.

[ajwwr82]

hey, i was diagnosed with a heart murmur when i was 6 i wasnt born with it though. it later closed up....but yes there is a correlation between murmurs and irregular beats. the heart murmur actually causes them, but if the doc says the heart murmur is nothing to worry about dont worry. everything you experience is benign and if you are having lots of them and they bother you, the doc will probably give you a beta blocker or something of that manner...hope this helped...: )

[Momto3]

scwater22

Hello.  I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse and mitral regurgitation when I was about your age, a long time ago...LOL.  It started out that the doctor heard a murmur and ordered an echocardiogram to determine the source of the peculiar sound.  Turned out that my mitral valve does not close properly so some of the blood that would normally be pumped forward (with a heartbeat) actually flows backwards.  Think of it like backwash.  There are other reasons for murmurs such as narrowing of arteries and an echocardiogram will help determine why you have a murmur.  Murrmurs can range from "innocent" to serious. When a doctor hears a murmur he/she often orders an echocardiogram to determine the cause.

Irregular beats are very common and may be related to the murmur or be a completely different thing going on.  In the setting of a structurally normal heart (determined by echo), the irregular beats are generally thought to be annoying, but benign.  Let us know how the test goes.  

[scwater22]

I finally got the echo results back, and I have mild mitral regurgitation. I haven't gotten the Holter results back yet, but I think I'll make an appointment soon to straighten everything out. Thanks for all your help!