Clinical Significance of Heart Murmurs Detected During Routine Clinical Examination in the First Week of Life: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

BACKGROUNDThe prevalence of heart murmur during the first week of birth varies from 0.6-44.7% and congenital heart disease (CHD) varies from 4-50 per 1000 live births in different studies. Though most are clinically insignificant, few are associated with various structural abnormalities. Our study was conducted to determine the prevalence of cardiac murmurs and congenital heart disease in neonates of rural Kerala.