Just curious if anyone else has this or heard of it.
Back in December 2003, I was very sick with a flu bug and dehydrated and went to ER. Where they discovered a heart murmer (during a 3 day hospital visit).

With several follow-up visits (for other symptoms) they have never been able to hear this heart murmer again.

Are there people with heart murmers that may only become noticeable when the body is dehydrated or the heart is working harder than normal?

(I had an EKG run and it was normal.)

Hi Bullun,
I'm sorry to hear you were so sick,hope you are better now.
I have heard of people having murmurs when they are sick and it goes away. A friends' 3yr old son was quite sick last year and they heard a murmur, he doesn't have it anymore.

I have a slight murmur that my cardiologist can hear, but my GP can't.....People are different, doctors are different, hearing and training is different. I guess when the body is under attack or sick from the flu, they could develop a temporary murmur, but I have never read of this happening. I know that some infants are born with murmurs that go away as they age, and some don't.

Hello Bullen, The term "heart murmur" is a general term relating to an "abnormal" ( not usual) sound. In itself it means very little. I think the sound usually relates to valve sounds or blood movement sounds. I am not medically qualified, but a lot of people have "innocent" murmurs, and murmurs that only some Doctors can hear.With a clean EKG it would seem you have nothing to worry about. Dehydration should be avoided in any case. Remember that once you are thirsty you are already dehydrated to some extent.I would'nt think that this had anything to do with your heart murmur, but thought I would mention it as good advice (I used to coach athletics events). All the best.
Excelsoir

I agree, with clean test results it is probably an "innocent murmur." These can come and go with stress or illness or many other factors and have no medical significance or danger, it just has to do with the sounds your heart makes. Some kids are born with innocent murmurs that dissappear with age, and others don't discover them until later in life when it didn't go away. In any case it is almost never anything to worry about if you've had tests to rule out other problems.

Bullun -
In October, I went to The ER with Chest pain following my morning workout. At that time, the ER doc said i had a "significant murmur" - which I had never known about.
Anyway, long story short, I was diagnosed with Pleurisy resulting from an infection I also didn't know I had. After it cleared up with antibiotics, I went back to the doctor for a recheck and the murmur was gone. I was worried at first that they weren't investigating further, in fact I even said to my doctor "So this murmur is like Bin Laden or something? You can't find it, so you quit looking?" (haha)
But they reassured me that murmurs can be a bazillion things, and that they can even be present when the hear rate is really high, and gone when it is normal, or with dehydration or stress, anxiety, etc.
Hope that helps.

I'm thinking "If a tree falls in the forest and there's nobody there to hear it, did it really fall?":D:D

bullum,

A murmur that isn't murmuring anymore is probably nothing to be concerned about.