Genel Muayene Sırasında Saptanan Kardiyak Üfürümlerde Ailelerin Endişe Düzeyi ve Farkındalığı, Çocuk Kardiyolojisi Uzmanından Beklentileri

Objective: To determine the anxiety levels, awareness of the need to go to a pediatric cardiology clinic and the expectations from pediatric cardiologists of parents whose children have a cardiac murmur. Material and Methods: Children with cardiac murmurs diagnosed during general physical examinations and presented at pediatric cardiology clinics for the first time were included in the study. Both pathological and innocent murmurs were included. The questionnaire forms consisting of 7 questions were answered by 354 families presenting at the pediatric cardiology clinic between May and August 2013 Results: The anxiety level of the parents when they learned that their children had cardiac murmur was 8 out of 10 points. The parents’ awareness of a department dealing with pediatric heart disease was 60.7%, When their expectations were asked 8.4% of the parents said that a cardiac examination would be enough while 82.2% thought that echocardiography should be performed. It was determined that 59% of the parents presented at a pediatric cardiology clinic within a day and 29.6% within a week. According to 79.9% of the parents, the murmur was a sign of a serious heart disease; 51.4% of them investigated and obtained information about the murmur, and 55.4% of them used the internet for this purpose. Conclusion: Cardiac murmurs cause a significant level of anxiety in parents even though they are mostly innocent. The parents of a child with cardiac murmur who are not provided information by a health care provider at the primary or secondary care health centers typically visit a pediatric cardiology clinic and ask for echocardiography examination.