is it safe to travel abroad with a heart murmur

I also was diagnosed a heart murmur, in my case was "functional" and benign as well. I experienced PVCs and PACs which were terribly annoying and worrysome. They used to drive me crazy and it was a vicious cycle!

But I got tired of feeling this way. They were worse when when I would get too excited or stressed or not sleep well. During my time in the Navy I had not choice but to travel on orders. I do not recall any problems related to my heart murmur but I do remember being apprehensive about going anywhere! The anxiety would cause the heart to skip beats.

In my case the murmur disappeared totally after I learned that magnesium defficiency could trigger heart murmurs. I took magnesium for a while and the murmur was gone, just like that! It was good it worked because I never liked taking the beta blockers the doctor gave me. I continue to take magnesium today along with calcium to maintain good heart health.

You did not mention if you were traveling to a high altitute area or not. I was able to take a trip to Peru and my heart was fine at 15,000 feet above see level. To prepare for that trip I took Ginko Bilova for 2 weeks (it is a natural blood thinner) and 2,000 mg of Omega 3 oils. I also packed them with me to my trip along with my magnesium on powder form.

I hope you follow up with your plans to travel. Stay away from cafeine and alcohol as they can make you anxious. Chamomille tea will be nice to drink while you are traveling. You may want to consider bringing a supplement that can help you stay relaxed: Valerian, Gaba, Rodhiola are among my favorites that work well and without side effects. And above all, do NOT think about it, use breathing relaxation when boarding the plane and have fun! I used to obsese and dwell on the symptoms to the point that my quality of life was suffering. I think I wasted too much good energy doing that.

Best of luck!

Hi Anon,

I actually have a heart murmur. I was diagnosed as a young child. Mine is the harmless kind of murmur..Described perfectly by Susan.

I've had the opportunity to travel all over the world and never had a problem. The only time there was any concern was about my murmur was when I was pregnant with my daughter, Amanda. The doctor wanted to make sure that there wasn't too much stress on my heart during the delivery. So, they put me through a battery of tests beforehand. Everything turned out great. No heart issues and a healthy 9lb 6oz girl.

Did a doctor diagnosis you? If so, you need to contact them to see what kind of murmur you have. Then, you need to ask if it's safe for you to travel with your particular heart murmur.

Here's some information from our encyclopedia on heart murmurs as well as a diagram... Click her to learn more https://www.empowher.com/media/reference/heart-murmur

Let us know if you have any more questions and what kind of murmur you or a loved one might have.

Best in health,
Michelle