My son was recently at the doctors for being sick they said that he has a murmur? why didn't they diagnose it at birth? he's 19months old now

Heart Changes: When a child is sick their heart has to pump a little bit harder, and the way blood flows changes in small ways. It's not unusual to hear a murmur when a child is sick because there's just more blood flow in the heart. Sometimes this can reveal a heart abnormality or it's just the "whooshing" sound of extra bloodflow. Please follow up with your doctor couple weeks.

Probably innocent: Many children have murmurs heard during childhood. Most of these are innocent flow murmurs, and often occur when children are sick. Fever or other factors during illness can increase the flow rate of blood through the heart and cause noise. Small children's hearts are closer to the outside, making these easier to hear. They are of no importance, and pediatricians are good at recognizing them.

Normal for murmurs: It is normal for innocent flow murmurs to come and go depending on the child's heart rate and blood pressure.

Wasn't there?: It is likely the murmur was not present at birth. He may not have a heart problem now. Illness and fever can cause a temporary murmur. If the murmur persists an evaluation by a pediatric cardiologist would be helpful.

Murmurs, cause: A murmur is not a diagnosis; it a physical finding caused by turbulence of blood flowing thru the heart. Many murmurs are "innocent" or normal sounds, and may come and go. Others are significant and may be due to holes in the heart or narrow or leaking heart valves. Check with your doc to find out the cause of the murmur.

Systolic flow: Murmurs are common in kids and can get louder with increased heart rate and dehydration...Ask your doctor for some more information.

Probably new: The majority of murmurs in children are benign or "functional, " meaning that they are not caused by an problem or disease of the heart. These murmurs often come and go as they please. Some pathologic murmurs are not present at birth and develop later. The odds are strong that this is a functional murmur, but a pediatric cardiologist could tell you for sure.

Probably normal: Most likely, his heart murmur is not caused by disease. A heart murmur simply means that you can hear blood flow when the heart beats. Most children with normal hearts have a murmur at some point during childhood. Normal heart murmurs can come and go. Heart murmurs are more commonly heard during illnesses. Normal heart murmurs typically sound different than murmurs associated with heart diseases.