Bridging the Cardiac Needs of a Large, Underserved Immigrant and Resettled Refugee Population.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a monthly outreach pediatric cardiology clinic established to better understand the cardiac needs of immigrant/resettled refugee children. STUDY DESIGN: Data obtained between 2014 and 2017 from a monthly pediatric cardiology clinic at a Federally Qualified Health Center were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: A total of 366 patients (222 male, 61%) were evaluated. Indications for referral included murmur (242, 66%), nonexertional symptoms (31, 9%), exertional symptoms (16, 4%), history of cardiac surgery/transcatheter interventions (15, 4%), previous diagnosis of heart conditions without intervention (13, 4%), arrhythmia/bradycardia (13, 4%), and others (36, 10%). Echocardiograms were performed on 136 patients (67 were abnormal, 49%). The most common final diagnoses include innocent murmur in 201 (55%), simple congenital heart disease in 61 (16%), complex congenital heart disease in 3 (1%), and acquired heart disease in 3 (1%). A total of 15 patients (4%) were ultimately determined to require surgical or cardiac catherization as an intervention. Patients have been followed for a median of 0.7 years (range 0-3.3 years). CONCLUSIONS: Rates of abnormal echocardiograms suggest a greater likelihood of congenital or acquired heart disease at time of initial consultation compared with nonimmigrant/refugee populations. The most common indication for referral to the outreach pediatric cardiology clinic was a murmur. Collaborative efforts between physicians and support services are essential in assisting this vulnerable population access pediatric subspecialty care.

Del soplo inocente a la hipertensión arterial pulmonar / From an innocent heart murmur to pulmonary arterial hypertension

Resumen Introducción: La detección de cardiopatías congénitas en la etapa neonatal a partir de un soplo cardiaco o cianosis no es efectiva. Las cardiopatías congénitas críticas, como el tronco arterioso común (TAC), causan la mayoría de las muertes neonatales por malformaciones congénitas. El tamizaje por oximetría de pulso en los recién nacidos detecta hasta el 70% de estas cardiopatías. El TAC presenta una alta mortalidad en el primer año de vida. Caso clínico: Se presenta el caso de un paciente de sexo femenino de 4 años de edad con soplo cardiaco, palpitaciones, disnea y cianosis perioral, con diagnóstico al nacimiento de soplo inocente. Se detectó TAC mediante una ecocardiografía. Las resistencias vasculares pulmonares fueron evaluadas por medio de cateterismo cardiaco derecho, con hallazgo de hipertensión arterial pulmonar y vasorreactividad pulmonar. Se realizó corrección quirúrgica. A la fecha, la hipertensión arterial pulmonar continúa presente, por lo que se implementó Bosentan® (Actelion, USA) como tratamiento a largo plazo. Conclusiones: En recién nacidos, el tamizaje por oximetría de pulso después de las 24 horas de vida es un método efectivo para el diagnóstico oportuno de cardiopatías congénitas críticas antes de los signos de colapso cardiovascular. Por ello, resulta una herramienta diagnóstica fundamental para reducir la morbimortalidad. Aunque la corrección quirúrgica de cardiopatías congénitas con hipertensión arterial pulmonar es factible en algunos pacientes, su manejo subsecuente es complejo e impacta de manera adversa en la calidad de vida.

Abstract Background: The detection of congenital heart disease in newborns, based on a heart murmur or cyanosis is not effective. Critical congenital heart diseases, such as truncus arteriosus (TA), cause most of neonatal deaths due to congenital malformations. The screening for pulse oximetry in newborns detects up to 70% of these heart diseases. TA presents high mortality in the first year of life. Case report: A 4-year-old female patient with a heart murmur, palpitations, dyspnea, and perioral cyanosis was diagnosed with an innocent heart murmur at birth. TA was detected by echocardiography. Pulmonary vascular resistances were evaluated through right cardiac catheterization, and pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary vasoreactivity were diagnosed as well. Surgical correction was performed. Currently, pulmonary arterial hypertension persists, for which Bosentan® (Actelion, USA) has been implemented as a long-term treatment. Conclusions: In newborns, the pulse oximetry screening after 24 hours of life is an effective method for suitable diagnosis of critical congenital heart disease before the signs of cardiovascular collapse. Therefore, it has become an essential diagnostic tool to reduce morbidity and mortality. Although the surgical correction of congenital heart disease with pulmonary arterial hypertension is feasible in some patients, its subsequent management is complex and has an adverse impact on the quality of life.

From an innocent heart murmur to pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Background: The detection of congenital heart disease in newborns, based on a heart murmur or cyanosis is not effective. Critical congenital heart diseases, such as truncus arteriosus (TA), cause most of neonatal deaths due to congenital malformations. The screening for pulse oximetry in newborns detects up to 70% of these heart diseases. TA presents high mortality in the first year of life. Case report: A 4-year-old female patient with a heart murmur, palpitations, dyspnea, and perioral cyanosis was diagnosed with an innocent heart murmur at birth. TA was detected by echocardiography. Pulmonary vascular resistances were evaluated through right cardiac catheterization, and pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary vasoreactivity were diagnosed as well. Surgical correction was performed. Currently, pulmonary arterial hypertension persists, for which Bosentan® (Actelion, USA) has been implemented as a long-term treatment. Conclusions: In newborns, the pulse oximetry screening after 24 hours of life is an effective method for suitable diagnosis of critical congenital heart disease before the signs of cardiovascular collapse. Therefore, it has become an essential diagnostic tool to reduce morbidity and mortality. Although the surgical correction of congenital heart disease with pulmonary arterial hypertension is feasible in some patients, its subsequent management is complex and has an adverse impact on the quality of life.

Introducción: La detección de cardiopatías congénitas en la etapa neonatal a partir de un soplo cardiaco o cianosis no es efectiva. Las cardiopatías congénitas críticas, como el tronco arterioso común (TAC), causan la mayoría de las muertes neonatales por malformaciones congénitas. El tamizaje por oximetría de pulso en los recién nacidos detecta hasta el 70% de estas cardiopatías. El TAC presenta una alta mortalidad en el primer año de vida. Caso clínico: Se presenta el caso de un paciente de sexo femenino de 4 años de edad con soplo cardiaco, palpitaciones, disnea y cianosis perioral, con diagnóstico al nacimiento de soplo inocente. Se detectó TAC mediante una ecocardiografía. Las resistencias vasculares pulmonares fueron evaluadas por medio de cateterismo cardiaco derecho, con hallazgo de hipertensión arterial pulmonar y vasorreactividad pulmonar. Se realizó corrección quirúrgica. A la fecha, la hipertensión arterial pulmonar continúa presente, por lo que se implementó Bosentan® (Actelion, USA) como tratamiento a largo plazo. Conclusiones: En recién nacidos, el tamizaje por oximetría de pulso después de las 24 horas de vida es un método efectivo para el diagnóstico oportuno de cardiopatías congénitas críticas antes de los signos de colapso cardiovascular. Por ello, resulta una herramienta diagnóstica fundamental para reducir la morbimortalidad. Aunque la corrección quirúrgica de cardiopatías congénitas con hipertensión arterial pulmonar es factible en algunos pacientes, su manejo subsecuente es complejo e impacta de manera adversa en la calidad de vida.

Consultorio de orientaciòn de cardilogía: epidemiología y perfil de la población / Cardiology guidance clinic: Epidemiology and profile of the population

Introducción: Las cardiopatías congénitas (CC) son las anomalías congénitas más frecuentes. Representan el 0,8-1,2% de todos los defectos del nacimiento y tienen una prevalencia de alrededor de 5,8 por cada 1000 personas. El Servicio de Cardiología del Hospital Garrahan es un centro de referencia nacional y de países limítrofes donde se realizan 18000 consultas anuales. Los pacientes que concurren por primera vez se atienden en el consultorio de orientación. Objetivo: Describir la epidemiologia y perfil de los pacientes que asisten diariamente al consultorio de orientación de cardiología infantil en un hospital pediátrico de tercer nivel de Buenos Aires. Métodos: Entre septiembre de 2017 y febrero de 2018 se recolectaron los datos de 1000 pacientes atendidos en forma consecutiva en el consultorio de orientación de cardiología. A la totalidad de los pacientes se les realizó anamnesis, examen físico cardiovascular, electrocardiograma, y en los casos en los que se consideró necesario, saturometría, radiografía de tórax y/o ecocardiograma. Las variables a considerar fueron edad, procedencia, presencia o ausencia de cardiopatías congénitas o adquiridas, soplo, cianosis, insuficiencia cardíaca, estado nutricional, síndromes genéticos asociados, métodos diagnósticos e indicaciones terapéuticas implementadas. Se subdividió la población en cinco grupos: Grupo A (pacientes con cardiopatía congénita), Grupo B (cardiopatías operadas), Grupo C (miocardiopatías), Grupo D (arritmias), Grupo E (corazón sano). Resultados: La edad mediana fue 4.86 años (0.03 a 18.9 años). El 64% de los pacientes procedían de la provincia de Buenos Aires. Los motivos de consulta fueron: interconsultas internas 29.5%, derivación por cardiopatía 27.2%, soplo 17.6%, síncope 7%, segunda opinión 5.1%, arritmias 4.8%, precordialgia 3.1%, palpitaciones 2.6%, episodio paroxístico 1.4%, cardiomegalia 0.7%, disnea 0.5%, mal progreso de peso 0.3%. El 10.6% tenían un síndrome genético. Grupo A: 252 pacientes con una edad mediana de 1.9 años. Las cardiopatías acianóticas con hiperflujo pulmonar fueron las más frecuentes (66.66%, 168/252). Grupo B: 51 pacientes, 23.52%(12/51) fueron Fallot reparados en otra institución. Grupo C: 22 pacientes, siendo la miocardiopatía hipertrófica la más frecuente. Grupo D: 47 pacientes, la preexcitación ventricular fue el hallazgo más frecuente (34,04%, 16/47). Grupo E: 628 pacientes, 45.70% (287/628) derivados por pediatras del área ambulatoria, principalmente para valoración de pacientes con enfermedades sistémicas o síndromes genéticos. Conclusión: Los motivos de derivación al consultorio de orientación de cardiología fueron muy diversos. La mayoría de los pacientes provenían de provincia de Buenos Aires. Solamente el 37.2% presentó algún problema cardiológico de base. El 91% de los pacientes que consultaron por soplo, no tuvieron cardiopatía. El grupo correspondiente a los pacientes con cardiopatías no operadas (grupo A) fue el de menor edad (mediana de 1.9 años) y las cardiopatías simples no cianóticas con hiperflujo pulmonar representaron el 66.66% de las cardiopatías. La implementación del ecocardiograma portátil en el consultorio de orientación permitió confirmar el diagnóstico y definir la conducta terapéutica en el 29.4% de los pacientes durante la primer consulta (AU)

Introduction: Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most common congenital abnormalities. They account for 0.8-1.2% of all birth defects and have a prevalence of around 5.8 per 1000 people. The Department of Cardiology of Garrahan Hospital is a national and bordering-country reference center, receiving 18000 consultations annually. Patients seen for the first time are assessed at the cardiology guidance clinic. Objective: To describe the epidemiology and profile of patients who seen daily at the child cardiology guidance clinic of a third-level pediatric hospital in Buenos Aires. Methods: Between September 2017 and February 2018, data from 1000 patients consecutively seen at the cardiology guidance clinic were collected. All patients underwent anamnesis, cardiovascular physical examination, electrocardiogram and, if considered necessary, pulse oximetry, chest x-ray, and/or echocardiogram. The variables considered were age, place of origin, presence or absence of congenital or acquired heart disease, murmur, cyanosis, heart failure, nutritional status, associated genetic syndromes, diagnostic methods, and treatment. The population was divided into five groups: Group A (patients with congenital heart defects), Group B (operated cardiopathies), Group C (myocardiopathies), Group D (arrhythmias), Group E (healthy heart). Results: Median age was 4.86 years (0.03 to 18.9 years). Overall, 64% of patients came from the province of Buenos Aires. The reasons for consultation were: internal consultations 29.5%, cardiac shunt 27.2%, murmur 17.6%, syncope 7%, second opinion 5.1%, arrhythmias 4.8%, precordialgia 3.1%, palpitations 2.6%, paroxysmal episode 1.4%, cardiomegaly 0.7%, dyspnea 0.5%, 0.3% poor weight gain. A genetic syndrome was identified in 10.6%. Group A: 252 patients with a median age of 1.9 years. Acyanotic congenital heart defect with pulmonary hyperflow was the most common (66.66%, 168/252). Group B: 51 patients, 23.52% (12/51) had tetralogy of Fallot repaired at another institution. Group C: 22 patients, in whom hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was the most common. Group D: 47 patients, in whom ventricular preexcitation was the most common finding (34.04%, 16/47). Group E: 628 patients, 45.70% (287/628) referred by pediatricians from the outpatient clinics, mainly for the assessment of systemic diseases or genetic syndromes. Conclusion: The reasons for referral to the cardiology guidance clinic were varied. Most of the patients came from the province of Buenos Aires. Only 37.2% had an underlying heart disease. Of the patients who consulted because of a murmur, 91% did not suffer from heart disease. The group of patients with congenital heart disease who had not undergone surgery (group A) was the youngest (median 1.9 years) and simple non-cyanotic heart disease with pulmonary hyperflow accounted for 66.66% of heart diseases. The implementation of the portable echocardiography in the guidance clinic confirmed the diagnosis and defined the management in 29.4% of patients during the first consultation (AU)

Ecocardiograma: da Solicitação do Exame pelo Pediatra à Realização pelo Cardiologista Pediátrico / Echocardiography: The Examination Request by the Pediatriciant Achieving the Pediatric Cardiologist

Fundamento: O ecocardiograma é uma ferramenta diagnóstica utilizada para avaliar anomalias cardíacas e esclarecer dúvidas quanto ao caráter benigno de certos achados do exame clínico cardiovascular. Objetivos: Identificar os principais motivos da solicitação do ecocardiograma pelo pediatra e avaliar o grau de ansiedade dos familiares gerado por essa conduta. Métodos: Foram incluídos pacientes com idade inferior a 18 anos, sem diagnóstico prévio de cardiopatia e encaminhados para o primeiro exame de ecocardiograma. Os familiares responsáveis pelos pacientes responderam a um questionário para avaliar o grau de ansiedade deles desde o pedido até a realização do ecocardiograma, com pontuação entre 0 e 19. Os dados foram analisados através de porcentagens, desvio padrão e teste T de Student. Resultados: Estudados 30 pacientes com idade média de 4,45 anos. O motivo de encaminhamento mais prevalente foi sopro cardíaco (23 casos), dos quais 70% não tiveram a hipótese de cardiopatia congênita confirmada após o ecocardiograma. A pontuação média no questionário de ansiedade foi 11 ± 6, sendo relacionado significativamente à presença de cardiopatia, com média de 13,0 ± 5,3 vs. 9,3 ± 5,2 no grupo sem a hipótese da mesma (p = 0,007). Conclusão: O achado de sopro foi o principal motivo para solicitação de ecocardiograma pelo pediatra. A confirmação de cardiopatia foi maior nos menores de 1 ano e com achado de sopro. Apesar do grau de ansiedade ter sido maior no grupo dos pacientes que tiveram o diagnóstico de cardiopatia congênita, este não foi desprezível nos familiares no grupo dos pacientes sem cardiopatia

Background: Echocardiography is a diagnostic tool used to evaluate cardiac anomalies and clarify doubts about the benign nature of certain findings of cardiovascular clinical examination. Objectives: To identify the main reasons for the request of echocardiography by pediatrician and evaluate the degree of anxiety of the family generated by this conduct. Methods: We included patients younger than 18 years without previous diagnosis of heart disease and referred for the first echocardiogram. Family members responsible for the patients answered a questionnaire to assess the degree of their anxiety from order to the performance of the echocardiogram, with scores between 0 and 19. Data were analyzed using percentages, standard deviation and Student's t test. Results: Studied 30 patients with a mean age of 4.45 years. The most prevalent reason for referral was heart murmur (23 cases), of which 70% patients had no congenital heart disease hypothesis confirmed, after echocardiography. The average score on the anxiety questionnaire was 11 ± 6 significantly associated with the presence of heart disease, with a mean of 13.0 ± 5.3 vs. 9.3 ± 5.2 in the group without the possibility of it (p = 0.007). Conclusion: The murmurs findings was the main reason for echocardiography request by the pediatrician. Confirmation of heart disease was higher in children under 1 year and with murmurs findings. Despite the anxiety level was higher in the group of patients who were diagnosed with congenital heart disease, this was not negligible in the family in the group of patients without heart disease

Características clínicas de los pacientes con soplos atendidos en una consulta de cardiopediatría / Clinical characteristics of patients with murmurs cared in a pediatric cardiology consultation

Fundamento: La auscultación de un soplo cardíaco durante el examen físico de un niño es frecuente, por lo que constituye el principal motivo de interconsulta en cardiología pediátrica. Objetivo: Identificar las características clínicas de los pacientes con soplos atendidos en una consulta de cardiopediatría. Metodología: Se estudiaron 118 niños durante el periodo de septiembre 2011 a diciembre 2012. Las variables utilizadas fueron edad, sexo, antecedentes patológicos familiares, síntomas asociados, localización del soplo, intensidad, complementarios (telecardiograma, electrocardiograma y ecocardiograma doppler). Resultados: Predominó el grupo de cero días a cinco años, y el sexo masculino. El dolor precordial, las palpitaciones y la disnea constituyeron los síntomas más frecuentes asociados al soplo. En 94 niños el soplo se ubicó en la región mesocárdica y en 106 fueron grado II. Conclusiones: La auscultación de un soplo cardíaco durante el examen físico de un niño es un hecho frecuente, por lo que constituye motivo de interconsulta periódicamente en la cardiología pediátrica.

Background: auscultation of a heart murmur during a physical examination of a child is common, which is the main interclinical reason in pediatric cardiology. Objective: To identify clinical characteristics of patients with murmurs cared in a pediatric cardiology consultation. Methodology: 118 children were studied from September 2011 to December 2012. The variables used were age, gender, family medical history, associated symptoms, location of the murmur, intensity, complementary exams (telecardiogram, electrocardiogram and echocardiogram doppler). Results: The group of 0 days to five years and male sex predominated. Chest pain, palpitations and dyspnea were the most common symptoms associated with the murmur. In 94 children the murmur was located in the mesocardiac region and 106 were grade II. Conclusions: Auscultation of a heart murmur during a physical examination of a child is frequent, that is why it is a periodically interclinical reason in pediatric cardiology consultation.

Variações eletrocardiográficas em pacientes portador de cardiopatia hipertrófica em uso de CDI / Eletrocardiographic changes in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy using ICD

A cardiomiopatia hipertrófica (CMH) é uma forma relativamente comum e complexa de doença cardíaca genética, sendo considerada a maior causa de morte súbita (MS) cardíaca em pessoas jovens, incluindo atletas, respondendo por 36% dos casos em jovens atletas nos Estados Unidos (EUA). O implante decardioversor-desfibrilador (CDI) tem demonstrado alta eficácia na prevenção desse evento. Para avaliação diagnóstica da CMH, o eletrocardiograma (ECG)representa ferramenta bastante útil, pois se encontra alterado em 75% a 95% dos casos clínicos. Após o implante do CDI, como demonstrado no caso relatado, são observadas variações no ECG que podem explicar a mudança benéfica na fisiopatologia obstrutiva da CMH.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a relatively common and complex genetic heart disease, rated as main cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young people, including athletes, accounting for 36% of these cases in young athletes in the United States(USA). IDC implants have proved highly effective for preventing such events. For diagnostic evaluations of CMH, the electrocardiogram (ECG) is a very useful tool, being altered in 75% to 95% of clinical cases. After an ICD implant, as demonstrated in this case report, variations in the ECG are noted that could explain the beneficial alteration in the pathophysiology of obstructive HCM.

Complexity-based analysis for the detection of heart murmurs.

While a healthy human heart produce a rhythmic pattern of sounds, some heart disorder induce deviations perceived as abnormal sounds called murmurs. Despite many murmurs can be considered harmless, other constitute the first basis of a heart disorder. In this sense, a correct diagnosis remains essential; however, due to the subjectivity on using human ear to make diagnosis, automatic detection systems appear as useful tools for helping medical specialists on improving diagnosis accuracy. Complexity analysis has become one important tool for the study of physiological signals, because tracking sudden alteration on the inherent complexity on biological processes might be useful for detecting pathologies. The present paper presents a complexity-based analysis methodology, which uses regularity features for the detection of heart murmurs, including Approximate Entropy, Sample Entropy, Gaussian Kernel Approximate Entropy, and Fuzzy Entropy. The results show the high discriminative power, up to 90%, of the Gaussian Kernel Approximate Entropy and Fuzzy Entropy for the proposed labour.

Application of the Empirical Mode Decomposition in the study of murmurs from Arteriovenous fistula stenosis.

The Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) is a method to decompose non linear, non stationary time series into a sum of different modes, named Intrinsical Mode Functions each one having a characteristic frequency. In the present work we used the EMD to investigate the properties of the recorded sounds from the Arteriovenous fistula on hemodialysis patients. Phonoangiographic signals coming from two different vessel conditions, stenotic and non-stenotic, were analyzed by using EMD, the mean energy and mean instantaneous frequency per IMF proved to be good features for classification. Three types of classification schemes were tested on data from the first IMf features achieving good results.

Feature extraction from parametric time-frequency representations for heart murmur detection.

The detection of murmurs from phonocardiographic recordings is an interesting problem that has been addressed before using a wide variety of techniques. In this context, this article explores the capabilities of an enhanced time-frequency representation (TFR) based on a time-varying autoregressive model. The parametric technique is used to compute the TFR of the signal, which serves as a complete characterization of the process. Parametric TFRs contain a large quantity of data, including redundant and irrelevant information. In order to extract the most relevant features from TFRs, two specific approaches for dimensionality reduction are presented: feature extraction by linear decomposition, and tiling partition of the t-f plane. In the first approach, the feature extraction was carried out by means of eigenplane-based PCA and PLS techniques. Likewise, a regular partition and a refined Quadtree partition of the t-f plane were tested for the tiled-TFR approach. As a result, the feature extraction methodology presented, which searches for the most relevant information immersed on the TFR, has demonstrated to be very effective. The features extracted were used to feed a simple k-nn classifier. The experiments were carried out using 45 phonocardiographic recordings (26 normal and 19 records with murmurs), segmented to extract 548 representative individual beats. The results using these methods point out that better accuracy and flexibility can be accomplished to represent non-stationary PCG signals, showing evidences of improvement with respect to other approaches found in the literature. The best accuracy obtained was 99.06 +/- 0.06%, evidencing high performance and stability. Because of its effectiveness and simplicity of implementation, the proposed methodology can be used as a simple diagnostic tool for primary health-care purposes.

Can cardiologists distinguish innocent from pathologic murmurs in neonates?

OBJECTIVES: To determine the sensitivity and specificity of the clinical assessment of murmurs in neonates, as performed by pediatric cardiologists, and to identify clinical features that predict the presence of congenital heart disease (CHD) in this population. STUDY DESIGN: Neonates (n = 201) referred for outpatient evaluation of a heart murmur were enrolled consecutively. After a clinical evaluation, the cardiologist documented whether the murmur was "likely innocent" or "likely pathologic." The cardiologist repeated his/her assessment after an electrocardiogram. Echocardiography served as the gold standard. RESULTS: The median age was 12 days (range, 2-31 days). CHD was present in 113 of 201 (56%). Clinical assessment alone identified patients with CHD with a sensitivity of 80.5% (95% CI, 73.2-87.8), specificity of 90.9% (95% CI, 84.9-96.9), positive predictive value of 91.9% (95% CI, 86.6-97.3), and negative predictive value of 78.4% (95% CI, 70.4-86.4). The addition of an electrocardiogram did not improve these test characteristics. Features that were predictive of CHD were murmur quality (P < .0001), location (P = .02), and timing (P = .04). No patients requiring catheter or surgical intervention were missed by clinical assessment. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CHD in this referral population was high. Clinical assessment detected all complex CHD, although some simple lesions were missed. Murmur quality, location, and timing were predictive of CHD.

Feature extraction for murmur detection based on support vector regression of time-frequency representations.

This paper presents a nonlinear approach for time-frequency representations (TFR) data analysis, based on a statistical learning methodology - support vector regression (SVR), that being a nonlinear framework, matches recent findings on the underlying dynamics of cardiac mechanic activity and phonocardiographic (PCG) recordings. The proposed methodology aims to model the estimated TFRs, and extract relevant features to perform classification between normal and pathologic PCG recordings (with murmur). Modeling of TFR is done by means of SVR, and the distance between regressions is calculated through dissimilarity measures based on dot product. Finally, a k-nn classifier is used for the classification stage, obtaining a validation performance of 97.85%.