A heart murmur is a sound your vet hears when blood flow becomes turbulent. It is a finding that needs interpretation, rather than a diagnosis on its own. Ask what the finding means for your particular cat and what should happen next.
What can cause a murmur?
A murmur may be associated with structural heart disease, a condition elsewhere in the body such as anaemia, or a physiological murmur without an underlying heart abnormality. A vet must assess the cause; owners cannot assume that stress explains it. VCA’s guide to feline murmurs describes these possibilities.
What the grade tells you
Vets commonly grade murmur loudness from one to six. Loudness alone cannot establish the diagnosis or prognosis. Equally, the absence of a murmur does not exclude every form of heart disease. Keep the report so that future examinations can be compared.
Possible next steps
Your vet will consider symptoms, age, history and other examination findings before recommending tests. These may include blood tests, blood pressure measurement or an echocardiogram. Heart ultrasound assesses structure and function; other tests can help investigate associated conditions. See VCA’s explanation of a cardiac assessment.
Useful questions include:
- What are the possible explanations for this finding?
- Which test would change the care plan, and how urgent is it?
- What changes should I report between appointments?
- When should the murmur or any confirmed condition be reassessed?
After the investigation
If no underlying disease is found, follow the recommended recheck plan. If a condition is diagnosed, treatment and outlook depend on that condition and its severity. A murmur alone cannot predict how long a cat will live or whether medication is needed.
Breathing difficulty, collapse or sudden painful limb weakness needs emergency veterinary attention, regardless of a previous murmur assessment. Do not wait for a routine appointment or a home-device reading.
General owner information; your vet should interpret your cat’s findings.
