Heart Model
Cardiovascular Physiology Concepts Richard E. Klabunde, PhD

Cardiovascular Physiology Concepts 3e textbook cover Cardiovascular Physiology Concepts, 3rd edition textbook, Published by Wolters Kluwer (2021)

CNormal and Abnormal Blood Pressure, Physiology, Pathophysiology and Treatment book cover Normal and Abnormal Blood Pressure, published by Richard E. Klabunde (2013)

Functional Cardiac Murmurs

Functional murmurs (also called physiologic murmurs) can occur in the absence of valvular pathology. An example would be an aortic systolic ejection murmur caused by a high cardiac output state. Very high flow velocities in the aorta can lead to turbulent flow, which will cause murmurs during the ejection phase of the cardiac cycle. Examples of this include high cardiac outputs in trained athletes and high output states during anemia. Anemia, by reducing blood viscosity, can cause turbulence and murmurs. Pregnancy, which increases resting cardiac output, can cause physiologic ejection murmurs during rest, which will further increase in intensity during exercise as cardiac output increases.

Revised 01/26/2023

Be sure to visit our sister site, CVPharmacology.com.

Why the Ads? CVphysiology.com is very popular with medical school students, physicians, educators, and others. We use the revenue from advertisements to offset the cost of hosting and maintaining this website. Having ads allows us to keep this website free for everyone.

Amazon Badge
Shop for Medical Books & Textbooks on Amazon