Can Children with Heart Murmurs Play Sports?

Heart murmurs are unusual sounds, like whooshing or swishing, heard between heartbeats. They happen when blood flows through your heart, and they’re incredibly common. In fact, up to 75% of children have heart murmurs at some point during childhood.

Discovering that your child has a murmur can be alarming — but it doesn’t always indicate a heart problem, and it doesn't necessarily mean your child’s daily life will be impacted. Many heart murmurs are innocent, meaning they aren’t tied to any structural heart issues.

Devyani Chowdhury, MD, MHA, and our team at Cardiology Care For Children specialize in pediatric heart care, and we’re here to help you understand what heart murmurs are and what they might mean for your child’s health and hobbies.

The basics of heart murmurs

An innocent heart murmur is a harmless sound that comes from blood flowing normally through the heart. These types of murmurs are common, and can be caused by conditions like fever, stress, anemia, rapid growth, or even physical activity. Many children experience heart murmurs like these at some point without any long-term health concerns.

However, some heart murmurs are associated with more serious underlying conditions, including congenital heart defects. These can include holes in the heart (e.g., atrial or ventricular septal defects) or other abnormalities in blood flow. In these cases, treating the underlying condition can help manage murmurs.

When heart murmurs need treatment

Innocent murmurs don’t usually require treatment., But if your child’s heart murmur is due to a structural or congenital heart defect, we might recommend treatment. Some congenital defects can heal on their own over time, while others might require intervention like medication or surgery.

When we treat the underlying condition, our goal is to improve your child's overall health and help them live a full, active life. For many children, even those with more serious murmurs, the goal is to restore enough heart function that sports and physical activities can be safely enjoyed.

What heart murmurs can mean for playing sports

The presence of a heart murmur alone doesn’t automatically exclude children from participating in sports — it depends on the underlying cause. In most cases, children with innocent murmurs can lead fully active lives and play sports.

If the murmur is linked to an underlying heart condition, the situation can become more complex. Dr. Chowdhury and our team can assess the severity of the issue and determine whether physical activity, particularly strenuous exercise, could pose a risk to your child’s health. In these cases, your child may need specific treatments, and sometimes, activity restrictions for safety.

Having a heart murmur doesn't automatically disqualify a child from playing sports. The key factor is determining the underlying cause of the murmur, and our team at Cardiology Care For Children is here to help you find answers. Contact us today to book a consultation at one of our locations in Lancaster, Mifflinburg, and Strasburg, Pennsylvania, and Topeka, Indiana.