Are heart murmurs classified as birth defects?

No: Murmurs that are not caused by an abnormality are common. They are called "functional murmurs", and are of no concern whatsoever.

No: Not every heart murmur is associated with a heart defect. Most murmurs are "flow" murmurs, the sound of the blood rushing through the heart or blood vessels. But some indicate a serious problem with the way the heart is formed. If your baby's doctor hears a murmur, she might do a chest xray or echocardiogram. She will tell you whether it could be serious and whether it needs treatment.

No: A murmur is a type of heart sound the doctor can hear with a stethoscope. Whether nor not a murmur is a birth defect depends on the cause of the sound. If the sound is caused by incorrectly formed arteries, veins, or heart parts, then the problem is a birth defect. On the other hand, many normal children have murmurs but no defects (the murmurs are probably just from the flow of the blood).

No: The murmur is but a sound. Certain murmurs are characteristic of certain defects, watch: http://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=uh5u845zz2k.

Yes: This is true only if the murmer comes from an anatomical defect or immaturity of the heart structure. Blood does make noise as it flows through the heart normally and if heard is an innocent murmer which is harmless.In addition, murmers can occur if the heart is damaged such as from an infection-rheumatic fever for example.

No: There are many heart murmurs that are not malformations of the heart - these are called functional or benign heart murmurs, and usually represent turbulent flow of blood in the heart. Structural heart murmurs are the result of a birth defect that has caused an altered anatomy to the heart. Check with your provider if you have questions about which murmur your child has.

No: Most heart murmurs are simply noisy flow of an active blood stream, like water in a river after a rain. Pregnant women and rapidly growing kids make blood in large volumes, sometimes more than the blood vessels are used to, so the flow gets noisy. However, sometimes the noise is because there is something wrong or in the way. Ask your doctor to clarify which is true in your, or your child's, case.

No: Not a birth defect for a simple innocent heart murmur.

Depends: If the murmur is innocent, no. If the murmur is caused by a heart defect, yes.

Overwhelming: Are benign systolic flow murmurs...Diastolic murmurs however are not benign.

Depends: A big majority of heart murmurs in children are innocent ones (without heart defect). True pathologic murmurs are associated with heart defects, often a part of birth defects.

Murmur: A murmur is just a sound and not a diagnosis; most are functional or innocent, but some can be due to heart problems, congenital or acquired.

Depends : A murmur is simply a audible sound in the heart caused by turbulence . Its a physical sign not a diagnosis. Some birth defects can cause murmurs and others wont. Murmurs can be from restricted vales, leaky valves, communications between chambers, fevers, anemia etc. So if a pt has a murmur usually an echo of the heart is done with dopplers to further evaluate it