Heart murmur

An auscultatory cardiac sound, typically whooshing or blowing in quality, produced by turbulent blood flow within the heart or across cardiac valves, which may be physiologic or indicate underlying structural or functional cardiac pathology. Physiologic causes are exercise, pregnancy, fever, anemia, hyperthyroidism, and growth spurts in adolescents. Structural pathology involves valve stenosis, valve regurgitation, congenital heart defects, endocarditis, and cardiomyopathy.