Heart murmurs in children are very common. A heart murmur just means a sound. Some heart murmurs are sounds produced by actual defects or abnormalities with the heart. For example, a ventricular septal defect (a hole in the wall separating the lower 2 chambers of the heart) makes a very specific noise as blood...
From time to time we evaluate children who are referred for an irregular heartbeat. This term typically refers to a heart rhythm that does not seem quite regular. An irregular heart beat is a little different from palpitations. The term palpitations refers to a sensation that the heart is not beating normally....
Questions about an enlarged heart come up fairly often. Not infrequently a child is referred because a chest x-ray demonstrates an "enlarged heart". Likewise, I often hear from parents who tell me that they had a relative who was diagnosed with an enlarged heart. So, what is an enlarged heart? The term enlarged...
This question comes up from time to time, sometimes in the midst of a serious discussion but more often than not as part of a lighthearted conversation. It often gets disputed when cardiologists and neurologists get together! In fact, I remember wondering about it as a child watching the Wizard of Oz! Certainly...