Adult Echocardiography Practice Exam

A common physiological condition that can produce a physiological murmur on echocardiography is increased blood flow across the valves during pregnancy. During pregnancy, various physiological changes occur in the body, particularly an increase in blood volume and cardiac output to meet the metabolic demands of both the mother and the developing fetus. This state of increased blood flow can lead to turbulence as blood moves through the heart's valves, resulting in the presence of a murmur.

Physiological murmurs are typically benign and often described as soft, systolic murmurs that occur without evidence of structural heart disease. In the case of pregnancy, these murmurs usually resolve postpartum when the blood volume returns to normal levels.

Other conditions, such as left ventricular dilation, mitral valve prolapse, and aortic stenosis, are associated with pathological murmurs. They can indicate underlying structural abnormalities of the heart or valves and often require further investigation or management. This distinction is significant in understanding the context of physiological versus pathological murmurs in patients.