CHECK IT. NOW.
My otherwise very healthy uncle-in-law died days after a dental cleaning, apparently because bacteria entered thru cleaning-related leisons (sp?), were attracted to a damaged valve, ate the valve, and he just closed his eyes and expired whilst being transfered between hospitals while figuring out what was going wrong.
Yes, murmors come in all kinds. Many people have largely benign ones. Some don't. Don't ignore the fact there is a very broad spectrum.
I just had a valve replaced. (I tick now. Audibly.) I knew it was coming for decades, waiting for gradual deterioration of the bicuspid aortic valve to reach a point where replacement was better than not. A side effect of the valve deterioration unexpectedly caused another problem ("total cardiac block", bottom chambers not getting the signal to beat) which very well could have seen me go from apparently healthy to dead in minutes (new cardiologist, upon diagnosis, tactfully asked "you're sure you don't have any symptoms?" meaning "why are you vertical?"). Even without that problem, the failing valve would have progressively led to congestive heart failure in about 3 years, and waiting to replace the valve would have assured survival but not full recovery. Once the total cardiac block was discovered, it was 10 days from diagnosis to surgery, replacing the bad valve with a mechanical one (On-X Carbon) and bypassing the block with a resynchronization pacemaker (InSync III CRT-P), with near-total recovery in mere weeks. ...and all this is separate from the mitral valve prolapse, which is apparently harmless (kinda snaps a little more than it should).
So, as someone who had major valve issues, and had an in-law die of an illness-induced heart murmor, GET IT CHECKED!!!
Yes, it's expensive. Can easily be several hundred dollars for the necessary echocardiogram and diagnosis - but that's a lot cheaper than the alternatives. Should something be diagnosed but not require immediate attention, I observe that mine was known since high school but didn't cause any "pre-existing condition" issues. Should something NOT be diagnosed but requires immediate attention, the result can easily be death, be it rapid (just pass out and that's it) or prolonged (gradual loss of strength/stamina until expiration). Should something be diagnosed AND promptly acted on, while the cost may be high at worst you can probably work out something like a $10/day payment plan for life.
Your friend needs to have health insurance, at least the "catastrophic" kind. Ask her if ~$200/mo going to luxuries vs. health is worth dying over.
