Your doctor may hear abnormal heart sounds, such as a heart murmur, when he or she examines your newborn.

Your doctor will order tests to find the cause of abnormal sounds or of symptoms. The most common test used to find this defect is called an echocardiogram, or “echo” for short. It uses sound waves to make an image of your baby’s heart.

Your baby may have other tests, such as an EKG (electrocardiogram) or a chest X-ray. Another test may look at the amount of oxygen in the blood.