“Can a heart murmur be fatal?”
My friend has a heart murmur, and I'm a little worried for him since he's over 70 years old. Could this be fatal?
5 Answers
Heart murmurs result from structural abnormalities of the heart valves, and it is the severity of the heart valve abnormality that can cause the development of heart functional abnormalities and even death if not addressed.
Yes, a heart murmur can be fatal. A murmur that's severe or critical, Aortic Stenosis, can cause heart failure, angina, syncope, and sudden death.
There are many, many heart murmurs that can occur. Some murmurs are quite benign and will never affect the patient's health. Other murmurs are quite malignant and have a high incidence of mortality. To answer the question regarding your friend, you would have to know what is causing the murmur.
Alberto Chavira, M.D.
Alberto Chavira, M.D.
Heart murmurs can reflect a leaky valve or a tight valve in the heart. Therefore, they can vary in significance. It would be important to have a heart ultrasound done to look into what causes the heart murmur. To answer your question, it is not the murmur it self that is fatal, but a valve abnormality (tight or leaky) can overtime lead to a fatal outcome if left untreated.
Most murmurs are benign. However since your friend is over 70 years old I would recommend he see a cardiologist just to make sure
