What is an “innocent” or “functional” heart murmur?
Heart murmurs don’t necessarily mean that your child is sick. Your doctor may call these murmurs “innocent” or “functional.” An innocent murmur is just a noise caused by blood flowing through a normal heart. These noises are commonly heard in children because their hearts are very close to their chest walls. An innocent murmur can get louder or softer depending on your child’s heart rate, such as when they’re excited or scared. Doctors often hear heart murmurs when they check children who have a fever. Many innocent murmurs become hard to hear as children grow older, and most usually go away on their own.
