Q. Can you die from a heart murmur? How often is a heart murmur fatal?

Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.

Answered by Secondmedic Expert

A heart murmur, also known as a cardiac murmur, is an abnormal sound heard during a heartbeat. While not always serious, it can be indicative of a heart condition that requires medical attention. In some cases, yes, it is possible for a heart murmur to be fatal if left untreated.

The severity of the risk associated with any given heart murmur depends upon its cause and complications that may arise from it. Heart murmurs are usually divided into two categories: those caused by benign (non-life-threatening) conditions and those caused by more serious problems such as congenital defects or infections of the cardiac valves. The risk associated with the latter type is higher in terms of mortality than that posed by benign causes because they are often accompanied by additional life-threatening symptoms or consequences such as arrhythmias or stroke.

In rare cases, even without other complications, people with severe heart murmurs can experience sudden death due to a gradual weakening of their heart’s ability to pump blood correctly over time (known as congestive cardiomyopathy). This condition is typically seen in individuals who have had multiple episodes of tachycardia—rapid beating of the heart—or bradycardia—slow beats per minute rate — over the course of their lifetime; these episodes indicate that there may be progressive damage being done to their hearts muscle walls resulting in its eventual failure due to an inability to maintain proper circulation levels throughout their bodies.

In general however, most patients who have been properly diagnosed and treatable forms of cardiac murmurs will lead normal lives after appropriate treatment has been taken; this includes lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking and taking on regular exercise routines along with prescription medications when needed. Therefore while fatal outcomes aren't unheard off in certain cases; they remain relatively uncommon occurrences among people living with milder forms of cardiac murmurs today - making them overall unlikely scenarios for most individuals affected by this symptomology overall .

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