What is a Heart Murmur? What Causes a Heart Murmur in a Puppy?
Normally, the blood flowing through the heart and the large blood vessels near it (aorta and pulmonary artery) moves smoothly and in only one direction. When blood does not move smoothly (is turbulent), it makes noise that is heard as a heart murmur. A heart murmur sounds like a swishing sound that happens between “lub” and “dub” or between “dub” and the next “lub.”Things that may cause turbulence in the blood include: • Disease or dysfunction of one of the heart valves. This allows blood to move backwards when it should not be able to. It meets up with blood that is trying to move forwards creating turbulence and a heart murmur • A hole between heart chambers that should not be there. For example, a hole between the left ventricle and the right ventricle allows blood to move from the left ventricle to the right ventricle. It meets up with blood trying to move out of the right ventricle and creates turbulence. • A hole between two large blood vessels near the heart that should not be t
