Heart murmurs

Resident’s Name: Joanne Lewis Date: January 8, 2010

Article title: An Evaluation of Parental Concerns and Misperceptions About Heart Murmurs

Author(s): Brian W. McCrindle, MD, MPH, et al

Journal: Clinical Pediatrics, January 1995

Type of Article: research

Main Purpose: to determine the extent of anxiety and misperceptions about heart murmurs in parents of children referred for a cardiology assessment.

Overview of method of research: Parents of 182 patients who were referred for a first-time pediatric cardiology assessment due to a heart murmur were selected to participate in the study. Prior to the cardiology appointment, the parents completed a questionnaire that assessed the parents’ expectations, level of concern, perceptions about heart murmurs, and perceived vulnerability of their child. Parents whose children were diagnosed with an innocent heart murmur were mailed a similar follow-up questionnaire 1 month after their child’s clinic visit.

Findings: Of the 182 patients, 118 (65%) were found to have no heart disease (innocent heart murmur). In the preevaluation questionnaire, only 16% of parents correctly stated that a heart murmur was a sound made by the heart. 61% of parents perceived themselves to be more concerned than their referring physician (22% of parents rated themselves as extremely concerned). Extreme concern was related to the perceived level of concern of the referring physician. Of the 118 patients with an innocent murmur, 10% of parents still thought that their child had a heart problem after the cardiology assessment. The persistent perception by the parents that their child had a heart problem was related to lack of satisfaction with the visit to the cardiologist.

Key points/Summary: Awareness of the parents’ overall system of health beliefs and their perception of their child’s vulnerability to illness must be taken into account in targeting at-risk parents for counseling.

Assessment of article: Self-evident – any parent would be concerned if their child was referred for a cardiac assessment.