Riley still has innocent murmur, anyone else with this?

Well, I saw a Cardiologist today at a Heart Clinic sponsored by our local breed club. She still hears the murmur on Riley and gave it a Grade 2. When he was seen at UC Davis last April they gave it a Grade 3 - 4 so it IS fading. I was advised to have his heart checked by a Cardio. at least once a year and have the vet listen every 6 mths.
Unfortunately, I had my vet listen to his heart just a month ago and she did not hear the murmur anymore, so I thought it had gone. Good thing I went to the Heart Clinic for another opinion.
My question to you all is has anyone had a Cavalier with an innocent flow murmur that then developed MVD? I was told that although his murmur may fade and go away, it also may not. And if he should develop MVD, it will be difficult for anyone to distinguish the innocent murmur from the early stages of MVD without careful auscultation and an ultrasound. So, I am prepared to have this be something I keep a careful eye on.
I just wanted to know if anyone else had gone through this as well.
Thanks.

Gosh that is scary....I don't have any advice to give, but keep us posted about how he is doing and what comes of this.

I have no clue. Hopefully someone with some knowledge will pop in here.

I can answer you as a doctor, not as a vet but the terminology sounds pretty similar. It is very common for children to have innocent murmurs. These are nothing to worry about. It is generally imprtant for the kids to be reviewed by a paediatrician or paediatric cardiologist to confirm that the murmur is in fact innocent and not related to any heart pathology - which is what is being done with Riley. Once confirmed as innocent they are nothing to worry about and they will not turn into something significant like MVD. As was explained to you, they often disppear over time, but some may not. However they can - like any other kid - develop a heart problem on top of the innocent murmur and the murmurs may be hard to distinguish from each other which is why eg in a case like a cav who is prone to developing MVD, it would be important to be reviewed regularly by a cardiologist who is best trained at assessing murmurs to determine if and when there is a change and further investigation is required. Generally however murmurs have particular characteristics based on what they are caused by, so a trained specialist can generally determine the difference between an innocent murmur and something else.

I also am not overly surprised your vet didn't hear the murmur - often innocent murmurs (and others) can be quite subtle and sometimes in humans GP's may not pick up what a cardiologist might - simply because they listen to hearts day in day out.

So from my medical background - an innocent murmur is nothing to worry about and won't change into something sinister, but regular monitoring by a cardiologist will be the best way to determine any changes.

Hope this helps.

Thank you for your replies. I didn't think this would be a subject that everyone has had to deal with (thank goodness). Thank you cooper&fergus for giving me the medical side of it. I am aware of the situation in humans, but it is helpful to have your input.
I hope Riley remains basically healthy, but i realize things can happen. I'll just wish for the best. :xfngr: