So, I scheduled an appointment for a check up 6 days after Kona…It’s been two years since my last check up and I figured it’d be cool to have something set up if I needed and medical assistance from my primary care guy post race.
Here are the facts:
as a kid they told me I had a slight heart murmer…no big deal.
Today my doctor did a double take, like…how could this be missed…and scheduled me an echo cardiogram
I did just wrap up the 10 months of my most brutal training of my life…really this was my rookie season if you want to count regimentation as a criteria for training.
I’m 24, work really, really hard and training to get to the front of the pack…but am no natural.
I’m not interested in diagnosis…that’s what my test is for…but who can show their medical prowess by telling me about heart murmers in relation to Ironman-ing? any experience with it? is a heart murmer a limiter? I just want to know as much as I can before going for the echo-cardiogram thing a ma jig.
A murmer is just a sound of blood flow. It may be normal in skinny people, it can also be abnormal and need attention. Just because you can exercise and do not have symptoms does not rule out a condition that needs to be evaluated. An ECHO evaluates blood flow to determine the cause of the murmer (sound). It is non-invasive, nothing to worry about.
Can be simple (mitral valve regurgitation; unlikely aortic stenosis at your age) or more severe like a cordae tendonae rupture that hold the valves - these have been know to “rupture” in endurance athletes. You can certainly “live” with this, but often can be repaired (even robotically today) if it is limiting your performance (just had a friend go through this at only 47).
Murmurs are very common and can be no big deal if you can exercise without getting overly fatigued. “Do you get short of breath while exercising?” “Well, yeah Doc, I was kinda breathing hard at the finish line of last weeks IM”
Training and completing an IM qualifies as exercise. I imagine your doctor is not use to listening to hearts that are as strong as yours and can clearly hear the murmur without having to go through 2 inches of adipose tissue (fat). Get the echo to get a good understanding of where the murmur is coming from.
I was told I had one back when I was in the Marines
They sent me to the hospital to have an echo cardiogram done and then did an ultrasound on my heart.
Their first response was “I don’t hear anything” then it was “Oh wait, I can barely hear something.”
They found some soft tissue on my lung that was making some noise as my heart moved and was mistaken for the murmer. They could see all the valves and blood flowing properly. I thought I was going home
I just went through this again at the doctor this summer. I have a murmur and a sinus arrythmia. They are putting me through a series of tests including an echo and a stress test. They were trying to get my heart rate to 80% of my theoretical maximum (156 - I am 25 yrs. old). I nearly broke their equipment… they had the treadmill at 25% grade at 7 mph for somewhere around 20 minutes to get to 156, and I thought I was going to explode. Now, they want me in for another test that I will need to have someone drive me home from the hospital. I’ve been there 7 or 8 times now.
In summary, you just have to wait and find out, but I’ve already found out that lots of people, including athletes, have murmurs. It really doesn’t mean anything until the later tests.
As has been posted already, murmurs are pretty common—or rather, not that uncommon. Personally I was diagnosed with a slight one at age 13 (I’ll be 47 in 6 weeks) so again, how it affects you or potentially limits you will depend on other testing/factors/etc.
In and of itself, a murmur is not something to get overly excited about.
I have both, murmer and mytral valve prolapse. I went to my doctor few years ago and told me that one of the things that murmers cause are panic attacks. Don’t ask me why…
Can you elaborate on it causing a panic attack. Does it inititate the physiological responses of a panic attack like sweating, increased heart rate, feeling chest pounding? Any references? Also does anyone have chest pain with a mumor?
My 22 yrr old son is dealing with something like this that they cant figure out what’s really wrong & he is having some panic attacks. All seems to be normal but it isn’t sometimes.
I have both, murmer and mytral valve prolapse. I went to my doctor few years ago and told me that one of the things that murmers cause are panic attacks. Don’t ask me why…
I was diagnose with both 10 yrs ago and I always thought they were the same thing. My doctor sent me for the echo test and then never really said much about either of them. I’ve totally forgot about them until now. At the time I was not into triathlons or racing bikes, I seem to be fine but I guess I still don’t know if I should be cautious at all.
I am sorry I can’t elaborate on this…like I posted before: “don’t aske me why”. I just remember the doc telling me about that. I have never suffered from that.
I experience, some weird things once in a while. Like all of a sudden I feel my heart in my throat for a few seconds and it goes away, sometimes quick palpitations that takes my heart out of rythm, sometimes I will feel a sharp pain in my heart, the remedy for this one is a funny one(told by my doc) : just push like when are constipated (if ever) and it will go away quickly.
Sometime it could be weeks without any of these symptoms.
I believe it’s the same thing as well - a heart murmur is just a generic term, and MVP is a heart murmur. I have MVP with leaky valves, so the valves that shuttle blood in and out of the heart sometimes let blood flow the other way - apparently that generates the blub-blub, or “murmur” sound. If this is totally wrong, blame the doctor who explained it to me when I was 19 or so. Anyway, I was told that if I have any kind of surgery I should take antibiotics beforehand, and I’ve heard that people with MVP shouldn’t go scuba diving, but other than that, it’s never been mentioned again by any doctor. And hasn’t affected me in the slightest. (Except when I jokingly say I can’t do some task or chore because I have a “heart condition.”)
Just curious what happened with your appt, if you don’t mind me asking. I just went for my first ever full physical and my situation is almost identical to your first post in this thread (just a few years older). Had an ECG afterwards today, a B12 test, and the doctor is setting up an echo and possibly ultrasound.
If it’s something you’d rather not post about on a forum I completely understand! Thanks.
well from what i have learned is that almost everyone has a heart murmurer in some shape or form its just to what extent it is. i am an EMT student and the people i did my ride along with (one a paramedic) told me that and that it is usually not a big deal but could lead to heart attacks or a few other types of heart failure but thats not till later in life and is not that common it mostly is not a big deal i have one and it doesnt hinder me at all i never even notice it when i train
I just went through this again at the doctor this summer. I have a murmur and a sinus arrythmia. They are putting me through a series of tests including an echo and a stress test. They were trying to get my heart rate to 80% of my theoretical maximum (156 - I am 25 yrs. old). I nearly broke their equipment… they had the treadmill at 25% grade at 7 mph for somewhere around 20 minutes to get to 156, and I thought I was going to explode. Now, they want me in for another test that I will need to have someone drive me home from the hospital. I’ve been there 7 or 8 times now.
In summary, you just have to wait and find out, but I’ve already found out that lots of people, including athletes, have murmurs. It really doesn’t mean anything until the later tests.
Get another opinion (or two) before someone does something harmful. Make sure it’s necessary. Sinus arrythmia is common in kids and athletes. Murmurs are not rare in slender people.
I believe it’s the same thing as well - a heart murmur is just a generic term, and MVP is a heart murmur. I have MVP with leaky valves, so the valves that shuttle blood in and out of the heart sometimes let blood flow the other way - apparently that generates the blub-blub, or “murmur” sound. If this is totally wrong, blame the doctor who explained it to me when I was 19 or so. Anyway, I was told that if I have any kind of surgery I should take antibiotics beforehand, and I’ve heard that people with MVP shouldn’t go scuba diving, but other than that, it’s never been mentioned again by any doctor. And hasn’t affected me in the slightest. (Except when I jokingly say I can’t do some task or chore because I have a “heart condition.”)
A murmur is a noise, generally caused by turbulent blood flow. (A mur is half of the noise;-)
Anyway, this noise can be caused by normal processes or by abnormal, such as tight or ‘loose’ valves, holes between chambers of the heart.
We hear NORMAL murmurs in 80-90% of kids by the time they are 5. MOST of them ‘outgrow’ them by age 16 or so, but some of them persist beyond that age, especially if they are thin or have a ‘funnel chest.’
I was diagnosed with aortic valve insufficency 3 years ago. At last weeks regular echo check/ visit to the cardiologist I was told that it was time for a valve replacement. However he told me that it could wait 6 months so go ahead a do the training and races(which include an IM and full mary) this summer and we’ll plan to do the surgery in the late fall. I don’t understand how I can be told to go and do this crazy endurance sport and then four weeks after the season have open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve. Is it safe?
I also have a mitral valve prolapse that he wants the surgeon to determine if it needs repair while in there.
Any other slowtwitchers have this surgery and then return to the sport. What are the life style changes?
I did a stress echo a couple of times for my heart issues and other than the fact they try to get you to try and lie still, holding your breath, when you’ve just leapt off the treadmill at 175BPM, it’s no worries.
My results have had no real impact on my training except that I have meds for life and my cardiologist has told me not to go over 170BPM and not to average over 160BPM if I"m out for more than an hour. That last bit is a bit of a drag, because I used to average about 175BPM for a 1/2 marathon and regularly peak about 195 going up hills.
I break those rules occassionally and I’m still here. I’m 46 and my kids are adults now so if I do go to the big triathlon in the sky, My wife would miss me until the huge insurance check arrived. Besides, the getting old doesn’t seem particularly enticing if youi ask me. I mean, having sex with a wrinkly old woman that smells like cooked cabbage can’t be that much fun!
