A souffle is a fancy word for a sound that doctors can hear when they listen to your heart with a special tool called a stethoscope. Your heart makes sounds when it beats and one of those sounds is like a whooshing noise that some doctors call a souffle.
Imagine if you were blowing bubbles into a glass of water through a straw. You would hear a bubbly sound like this: ‘blub blub blub’. Now, imagine that your heart is like a pump that is pushing blood around your body. The sound that your heart makes when it pumps the blood is like the sound of bubbles being blown into water through a straw.
When a doctor hears a souffle with a stethoscope, it can mean different things depending on what is causing the noise. It could be a sign that your heart is working harder than usual because you are nervous or active. Or, it could be a sign of a more serious problem like a heart defect that needs treatment from a specialist doctor.
Overall, a souffle is just one of many things that doctors listen for when they examine your heart to make sure it is healthy and strong!