heart murmur grades

[A]

My doctor says that I have a grade II-III/VI mid to late systolic murmur. What does this mean exactly? How can a murmur be classified as II-III/VI, doesn't the scale only go from I to VI?

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

The scale goes from 0 (none) to 4 (severe) and can be graded as a whole number or "in-between" numbers as in 3-4.  2-3/4 is rather a broad ranking and probably means moderate to severe.

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

Sorry, I misread your question and thought it pertained to echo findings.  Heart murmurs by stethoscope are graded from 0 to 6 and yours is 2-3 which is moderate.

[marie]

What does it mean if you have a severe murmer verses a moderate?  Does this coupled with pvc's increase a chance of heart problems?  I have been diagnosed with pvc, mvp and a heart murmer.  Thank you for your help.

Marie

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

The severity of the murmur does not always correlate with the severity of the valvular problem. Loud murmurs may be associated with mild problems and visa-versa.  There is no relation between murmurs and PVCs.

[Joe Gentile]

When undergoing an echocardiogram, what are peak ratings and what is their significance?

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

0 - NONE TO 4 - SEVERE