My grandson has just been for his 8 week injections & we hav been told he has a systolic murmur & needs to be refered to the hospital for tests.We have been given no further information & i am concerned as to what this means exactly.I have read some information on the internet but am still no wiser as to what will happen next.Also how long are we likely to wait for this appointment is there a time limit for these referals thank you.

The rule of thumb for pediatric cardiology is that diastolic murmurs are always abnormal but systolic murmurs can be benign or a sign of a structural abnormality.

Your grandson has a systolic murmur. Pediatric cardiologists estimate that benign murmurs can be heard in nearly 90% of children. Without a clinical exam and ultrasound imaging, it is impossible to determine if your grandson’s murmur is benign or suspicious but it is wise to have him further evaluated.

The next step in your grandson’s workup is a referral to a pediatric cardiologist, an electrocardiogram (EKG), and/or imaging of the heart with an ultrasound machine. With those pieces of information, your child’s pediatrician can make an informed decision for your grandson’s care.

With regards to the wait for the appointment, it all depends on who your grandson was referred to and when his/her next office appointment would be. It doesn’t hurt to call the physician’s office to ask.