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American Family Physician Mar 2022Up to 8.6% of infants and 80% of children have a heart murmur during their early years of life. The presence of a murmur can indicate conditions ranging from no...
Up to 8.6% of infants and 80% of children have a heart murmur during their early years of life. The presence of a murmur can indicate conditions ranging from no discernable pathology to acquired or congenital heart disease. In infants with a murmur, physicians should review the obstetric and family histories to detect the possibility of congenital heart pathologies. Evaluation by a pediatric cardiologist is indicated for newborns with a murmur because studies show that neonatal murmurs have higher rates of pathology than in older children, and neonatal murmur characteristics are more difficult to evaluate during examination; referral is preferred over echocardiography. All infants, with or without a murmur, should have pulse oximetry screening to detect underlying critical congenital heart disease. In older children, most murmurs are innocent and can be followed with serial examinations if there are no findings of concern. Findings in older children that warrant referral include diastolic murmurs, loud or harsh-sounding murmurs, holosystolic murmurs, murmurs that radiate to the back or neck, or signs or symptoms of cardiac disease. Referral to a pediatric cardiologist is indicated when a pathologic murmur is suspected. Electrocardiography, chest radiography, and other tests should not be reflexively performed as part of all murmur evaluations because these tests can misclassify a murmur as innocent or pathologic, and they are not cost-effective. Emerging technologies include phonocardiography interpretation of murmurs and artificial intelligence algorithms for differentiating innocent from pathologic murmurs.
Topics: Artificial Intelligence; Child; Echocardiography; Electrocardiography; Heart Defects, Congenital; Heart Murmurs; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn
PubMed: 35289571
DOI: No ID Found -
The Nursing Clinics of North America Sep 2023Many healthy children may be found to have a murmur on physical exam. Whether this murmur is discovered at a routine health maintenance visit or as a result of a focused... (Review)
Review
Many healthy children may be found to have a murmur on physical exam. Whether this murmur is discovered at a routine health maintenance visit or as a result of a focused exam on a child with illness, it is just one finding and must be considered in the context of the child's history and other physical exam findings. Murmurs associated with heart defect or dysfunction occur most often in infancy. Most murmurs discovered in children, especially after infancy, between ages 3 to 6 and in young-adulthood, are innocent or benign murmurs and less likely a symptom of cardiac dysfunction or defect.
Topics: Child; Humans; Adult; Heart Auscultation; Heart Murmurs; Heart Diseases; Physical Examination
PubMed: 37536793
DOI: 10.1016/j.cnur.2023.05.013 -
Circulation May 2021Diastolic dysfunction (DD) is associated with the development of heart failure and contributes to the pathogenesis of other cardiac maladies, including atrial...
BACKGROUND
Diastolic dysfunction (DD) is associated with the development of heart failure and contributes to the pathogenesis of other cardiac maladies, including atrial fibrillation. Inhibition of histone deacetylases (HDACs) has been shown to prevent DD by enhancing myofibril relaxation. We addressed the therapeutic potential of HDAC inhibition in a model of established DD with preserved ejection fraction.
METHODS
Four weeks after uninephrectomy and implantation with deoxycorticosterone acetate pellets, when DD was clearly evident, 1 cohort of mice was administered the clinical-stage HDAC inhibitor ITF2357/Givinostat. Echocardiography, blood pressure measurements, and end point invasive hemodynamic analyses were performed. Myofibril mechanics and intact cardiomyocyte relaxation were assessed ex vivo. Cardiac fibrosis was evaluated by picrosirius red staining and second harmonic generation microscopy of left ventricle (LV) sections, RNA sequencing of LV mRNA, mass spectrometry-based evaluation of decellularized LV biopsies, and atomic force microscopy determination of LV stiffness. Mechanistic studies were performed with primary rat and human cardiac fibroblasts.
RESULTS
HDAC inhibition normalized DD without lowering blood pressure in this model of systemic hypertension. In contrast to previous models, myofibril relaxation was unimpaired in uninephrectomy/deoxycorticosterone acetate mice. Furthermore, cardiac fibrosis was not evident in any mouse cohort on the basis of picrosirius red staining or second harmonic generation microscopy. However, mass spectrometry revealed induction in the expression of >100 extracellular matrix proteins in LVs of uninephrectomy/deoxycorticosterone acetate mice, which correlated with profound tissue stiffening based on atomic force microscopy. ITF2357/Givinostat treatment blocked extracellular matrix expansion and LV stiffening. The HDAC inhibitor was subsequently shown to suppress cardiac fibroblast activation, at least in part, by blunting recruitment of the profibrotic chromatin reader protein BRD4 (bromodomain-containing protein 4) to key gene regulatory elements.
CONCLUSIONS
These findings demonstrate the potential of HDAC inhibition as a therapeutic intervention to reverse existing DD and establish blockade of extracellular matrix remodeling as a second mechanism by which HDAC inhibitors improve ventricular filling. Our data reveal the existence of pathophysiologically relevant covert or hidden cardiac fibrosis that is below the limit of detection of histochemical stains such as picrosirius red, highlighting the need to evaluate fibrosis of the heart using diverse methodologies.
Topics: Animals; Disease Models, Animal; Extracellular Matrix; Female; Heart Murmurs; Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors; Humans; Male; Mice; Ventricular Remodeling
PubMed: 33682427
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.046462 -
The Medical Clinics of North America May 2022Patients with valvular heart disease may present with or without symptoms. A thorough cardiac physical examination can identify patients who require further evaluation... (Review)
Review
Patients with valvular heart disease may present with or without symptoms. A thorough cardiac physical examination can identify patients who require further evaluation and management. Although the utility of different cardiac findings varies widely, diastolic murmurs indicate important underlying valvular pathology requiring further investigation, typically with echocardiography. The proper examination of patients with systolic murmurs, the most common murmurs in clinical practice, is fundamental to cost-effective care. We will review the key components of the cardiac examination and findings relevant to functional murmurs, aortic stenosis, mitral valve prolapse and regurgitation, tricuspid regurgitation, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, aortic regurgitation, and mitral stenosis.
Topics: Echocardiography; Heart Murmurs; Heart Valve Diseases; Humans; Physical Examination
PubMed: 35491074
DOI: 10.1016/j.mcna.2021.12.011 -
European Heart Journal. Cardiovascular... Dec 2020
Topics: Echocardiography; Heart Murmurs; Humans; Motivation; Physician-Patient Relations
PubMed: 32980873
DOI: 10.1093/ehjci/jeaa180 -
Heart (British Cardiac Society) Dec 2020
Topics: Carcinoid Heart Disease; Diagnosis, Differential; Echocardiography; Female; Heart Murmurs; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine; Middle Aged; Neuroendocrine Tumors; Ovarian Neoplasms; Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography
PubMed: 33243785
DOI: 10.1136/heartjnl-2020-317521 -
Indian Journal of Critical Care... Dec 2021Pregnancy is a dynamic process, which induces a multitude of anatomic, physiological, biochemical, and psychological changes. Physiological changes during pregnancy...
UNLABELLED
Pregnancy is a dynamic process, which induces a multitude of anatomic, physiological, biochemical, and psychological changes. Physiological changes during pregnancy allow the body to meet the increased metabolic demands of the mother and fetus by maintaining adequate uteroplacental circulation, and ensure fetal growth and development. These changes begin early in the first trimester and are brought on by the increased circulating levels of progesterone and estrogen, which are produced by the ovary in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and thereafter by the placenta. While some of these cause a change in biochemical values, others may mimic symptoms of medical disease. For instance, cardiac changes such as sinus tachycardia, systolic heart murmurs, and cardiac enlargement could be interpreted as signs of heart disease. It is thus crucial, to differentiate between normal physiological changes and pathological changes, particularly for clinicians involved in the care of pregnant patient.
HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE
Gangakhedkar GR, Kulkarni AP. Physiological Changes in Pregnancy. Indian J Crit Care Med 2021; 25(Suppl 3):S189-S192.
PubMed: 35615611
DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10071-24039 -
CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association... Sep 2021
Topics: Aged; Anemia, Hemolytic; Heart Murmurs; Heart Valve Prosthesis; Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation; Humans; Male; Mitral Valve Insufficiency; Prosthesis Failure
PubMed: 34580148
DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.202620-f -
The American Journal of Emergency... Nov 2021The purpose of this review is to draw attention to the presence and significance of murmurs other than the murmur of aortic regurgitation, in patients with aortic... (Review)
Review
The purpose of this review is to draw attention to the presence and significance of murmurs other than the murmur of aortic regurgitation, in patients with aortic dissection. For that purpose, a literature search was conducted using Pubmed and Googlescholar. The search terms were "dissecting aneurysm of the aorta", "systolic murmurs", "ejection systolic murmurs", "holosystolic" murmurs, "continuous murmurs", and "Austin-Flint" murmur. Murmurs other than the murmur of aortic regurgitation, which were associated with aortic dissection, fell into the categories of systolic murmurs, some of which were holosystolic, and continuous murmurs, the latter attributable to fistulae between the dissecting aneurysm and the left atrium, right atrium, and the pulmonary artery, respectively. Mid-diastolic murmurs were also identified, and these typically occurred in association with both the systolic and the early diastolic murmurs. Among patients with systolic murmurs clinical features which enhanced the pre-test probability of aortic dissection included back pain, stroke, paraplegia, unilateral absence of pulses, interarm differences in blood pressure, hypertension, shock, bicuspid aortic valve, aortic coarctation, Turner's syndrome, and high D-dimer levels, respectively. In the absence of the murmur of aortic regurgitation timely diagnosis of aortic dissection could be expedited by increased attention to parameters which enhance pretest probability of aortic dissection. That logic would apply even if the only murmurs which were elicited were systolic murmurs.
Topics: Aortic Dissection; Heart Auscultation; Heart Murmurs; Humans; Physical Examination
PubMed: 34102459
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajem.2021.05.041