August 17, 2003
Other Illnesses
Question from Youngstown, Ohio, USA:
At birth, my 11 year old daughter had two to three heart murmurs which we were told had closed by the time she reached a year of age. However, when she was diagnosed with type�1 diabetes about five months ago, we were told that they detected heart murmurs. Is it possible that the extremely high blood sugars and ketones she had before diagnosis caused a recurrence of the heart murmurs that had supposedly closed?
Answer:
The heart murmurs are not at all related to the diabetes. If your child was dehydrated significantly, then the stress of this situation may have allowed a heart murmur to be heard. You should discuss this with your physicians and perhaps consider going back for followup cardiology consultation if the murmurs persist.
SB