Heart murmurs are abnormal sounds produced during heart beat.

Causes
Heart murmurs are usually harmless but sometimes they can have a serious cause such as:

• Narrow valves
• Leaking valves
• Septal holes
• Congenital heart defects
• Medical conditions such as thyrotoxicosis,  rheumatic fever, endocarditis, calcification or mitral valve prolapse

Symptoms
Harmless heart murmurs do not cause any symptoms. In some other cases symptoms may include:

• Chest pain
• Palpitations
• Breathlessness
• Fatigue
• Fainting
• Bluish color of the skin

Treatment
Harmless heart murmurs do not require any treatment. If some serious causes are there then treatment may include:

• Treatment of underlying medical condition
• Medication such as anticoagulants, diuretics, ACE inhibitors etc.
• Surgery to repair valves or septal defects

Prevention
There is no way to prevent heart murmurs.