[Assessment of heart murmurs in childhood].

OBJECTIVE To discuss clinical and laboratorial evaluation of heart murmurs in children, an important problem faced by pediatricians in their practice. SOURCES This review was based on a critical analysis of the current literature, as well as pediatrics and pediatric cardiology textbooks, which were found to be an important source of information on the subject. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS It is important for pediatricians to know how to obtain precise information regarding the patient's medical history and to perform extensive physical examination of a child with heart murmur. The diagnosis of innocent heart murmur is essentially clinical and it can help the pediatrician to identify situations which are associated with cardiovascular diseases. CONCLUSIONS The pediatrician is usually the first physician to see a child with heart murmur and he should be able to distinguish between innocent and pathologic heart murmurs.