silent heart murmur

My grandson is 3 yrs old and weights 85 lbs.  I was just informed this could be a symptom of a silent heart murmur.
Is this true?  He does not eat that much to where he should be that overweight.

Thanks,
   CJ

[Jeffrey R Boris, M.D.]

Dear CJ,

A heart murmur is the term that we use when we are describing an extra sound in the heart.  That sound is caused by turbulent blood flow.  The turbulence can be normal or abnormal; abnormal means that there is something structurally wrong with the heart.  Normal means that we can just hear the blood flowing through the heart normally.  Therefore, there is no such thing as a silent heart murmur.  There can be silent cardiac defects.  However, they do not cause obesity.  

The normal weight range for a 3 year old is between 25 and 45 pounds.  Obviously, I do not have all of the information about your grandson, nor can I evaluate him.  I do not know if his height is appropriately proportional to his weight, nor do I know if his parents are exceedingly tall; if so, this could be genetic.  However, the more likely explanation is that he is, in fact, eating too much calorically dense food and is significantly overweight.  I would recommend that he be evaluated by a pediatrician, who can get a complete history (including diet) and examination.  If there are specific concerns about certain body systems, such as endocrine or genetic, he can be referred for further evaluation for these.