RT Journal
T1 MEdical news
JF JAMA
JO JAMA
YR 1969
FD December 8
VO 210
IS 10
SP 1841
OP 1852
DO 10.1001/jama.1969.03160360007003
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.1969.03160360007003
AB Heart Murmurs May Be Masked By Pregnancy 
    Murmurs of aortic and mitral regurgitation—clues to rheumatic heart disease and valvular disease—can become so faint in pregnant women that they may be overlooked, according to a study reported at the American Heart Association meeting in Dallas.Pregnant women with these heart conditions are susceptible to bacterial endocarditis at the time of delivery, said Frank I. Marcus, MD. Dr. Marcus, who headed the study, is professor of medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine."Organic heart disease must be suspected during pregnancy when there is a history of rheumatic fever or rheumatic heart disease, even in the absence of the murmur of aortic or mitral valve regurgitation," Dr. Marcus recommends.He added that physicians should also listen for the murmurs after the termination of pregnancy.Allan C. Bleich, MD, now of the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, presented the