Objective:

To evaluate the echocardiographic findings retrospectively in children with murmur diagnosed by physical examination.

Material and Methods:

Between January 2008 and December 2008, during pre-surgical evaluations, 1995 children with observed heart murmur, whose ages ranged from 2 months to 12 years, were evaluated retrospectively at the Ankara Training and Research Hospital.

Results:

Heart murmur was observed in 71 of the 1995 patients who participated in the study. As a result of physical examinations, electrocardiography, telecardiography, and echocardiography investigations, it was found that of the 71 (3.5%) patients, 57 (2.8%) had innocent murmur while 14 (0.7%) of them had congenital heart disease.

Conclusion:

As a result of detailed physical examinations that were performed for different reasons by experienced pediatricians and also electrocardiography, telecardiography investigations, it is possible to differentiate most murmurs as innocent or pathologic murmurs. However, small congenital heart disease and rheumatismal heart disease may be overlooked and therefore we think that heart murmurs should be investigated in more detail with echocardiography. This way treatment of the cardiac pathologies or infective endocardial prophylaxis could be planned.

Keywords: Innocent murmur, congenital heart disease, echocardiography