Getting to the heart of the matter

Heart murmurs in children can be an especially tricky condition to diagnose and many children will, at some point, play host to a heart murmur. The good news is that most heart murmurs are harmless – but it definitely helps to know the facts:

There are two classifications of abnormal heart sounds known as functional and pathological.

• Functional: This is a normal heart murmur that’s characterised by loud sounds produced by turbulent blood flow in the heart. 
• Pathological: A more sinister classification, this type of heart murmur is characterised by loud sounds of the heart which is caused by restrictions in the opening of a heart valve.

Source: http://www.wellaware.co.za/getting-to-the-heart-of-the-matter-at-school-level-rugby/