What does murmur grade mean?

Murmurs are classified (“graded”) depending on how loud the murmur sounds with a stethoscope. The grading is on a scale. Grade I can barely be heard. An example of a murmur description is a “grade II/VI murmur.” (This means the murmur is grade 2 on a scale of 1 to 6).

What are two general classifications of murmurs?

What are the different types of murmurs?

Systolic murmur. This happens during a heart muscle contraction.
Diastolic murmur. This happens during heart muscle relaxation between beats.
Continuous murmur. This happens throughout the cardiac cycle.

What is murmur and its types?

Types of murmurs include: Systolic murmur – occurs during a heart muscle contraction. Systolic murmurs are divided into ejection murmurs (due to blood flow through a narrowed vessel or irregular valve) and regurgitant murmurs. Diastolic murmur – occurs during heart muscle relaxation between beats.

What is the grade of a heart murmur?

(This means the murmur is grade 2 on a scale of 1 to 6). In addition, a murmur is described by the stage of the heartbeat when the murmur is heard. A heart murmur may be described as systolic or diastolic. (Systole is when the heart is squeezing out blood and diastole is when it is filling up with blood.)

What’s the best way to describe a murmur?

There are several ways in which your health care provider may describe a murmur: Murmurs are classified (“graded”) depending on how loud the murmur sounds with a stethoscope. The grading is on a scale. Grade I can barely be heard. An example of a murmur description is a “grade II/VI murmur.” (This means the murmur is grade 2 on a scale of 1 to 6).

How are systolic murmurs graded with a stethoscope?

Systolic murmurs are graded by intensity (loudness) from 1 to 6, with a stethoscope slightly removed from the chest. A grade 1 out of 6 is faint, heard only with a special effort. A grade 6 out of 6 (6/6) is extremely loud, and can be heard with a stethoscope even when slightly removed from the chest. En español: Read about heart murmurs (PDF).

Can a heart murmur be an innocent murmur?

Heart murmurs sound serious, and often are, but sometimes a heart murmur is classified as an innocent heart murmur. These heart murmurs are not serious and often resolve with time.