Prevalence and Significance of Heart Murmurs in the Newborn

Abstract

Present study was conducted to determine the prevalence and clinical significance of murmurs detected in the first few days of life. In a one year prospective study, 1204 newborn babies underwent routine examination by resident doctors during their stay in the ward after delivery and on follow up between 5-7 days of life. All those with murmurs underwent echocardiographic and colour doppler study. Babies who were transferred to NICU had echocardiography during the stay if indicated. Murmurs were detected in 84 babies (7.0%). Out of these 54(63%) had a cardiac malformation. 30 of these were significant lesions. The most common diagnosis was Ventricular Septal Defect. PDA was the second most common and ASD was third. In this cohort four babies had a complex cyanotic heart disease and required early referral for corrective surgery. Murmur was present in nearly 7% of the babies. If a murmur is heard there is a 36% chance of there being an underlying cardiac malformation.

Keywords: Heart Murmurs, Ventricular Septal Defect, cardiac malformation.