Does A Blockage Of A Coronary Artery Cause A Murmur?

Possibly.  Heart murmurs are heard if there is a defect in a heart valve, which are the doors through which the blood flows between the different chambers of the heart, to or from the body.  These valves also have muscles (papillary) that tether the valves to the inner walls of the heart to prevent over-extension; these, too, can be affected by a heart attack.  Murmurs can also be heard with a rupture of the wall between the two ventricles (ventricular septal rupture). Coronary arteries supply blood to different parts of the heart.  If the coronary artery that is blocked supplies a part of the heart that a heart valve is attached to, a murmur could result.  A murmur may be audible when the cardiac output, or blood flow out from the heart, is substantially decreased.  In the case of a ventricular rupture, this may occur with blockages that affect the full thickness of the heart muscle supplied.  Coronary arteries can be blocked in different amounts, so screening is best to determine the level of disease before a heart attack actually happens.  Stable, slow-building blockages in and of themselves do not necessarily cause the damage to the heart muscle to result in murmurs.  The above scenarios occur with acute myocardial infarction (heart attacks), and not with stable plaque formation.  If the blockage is stable, the heart sometimes has enough time to build more blood vessels to make up for the lack of circulation (collateral circulation).  In this case, the damage to the underlying muscle and heart valves could potentially be less.

"Health Yes! Medical Advisory Board"

Did you know that screening for Coronary Artery Disease is available? I didn't know till recently and I can think of people in my life that could probably benefit from it.