Exercise tolerance

Exercise tolerance

Exercise tolerance may be assessed by:

(For more information, go to: Technical Standards for Field Walking Tests)

Instruct the patient to rate their perception of their difficulty of breathing.

0 Nothing at all

0.5 Very, very slight

1 Very slight

2 Slight

3 Moderate

4 Somewhat severe

5 Severe

6

7 Very severe

8

9 Very, very severe

10 Maximal

Grade Description of Breathlessness
  1. I only get breathless with strenuous exercise.
  2. I get short of breath when hurrying on level ground or walking up a slight hill.
  3. On level ground, I walk slower than people of the same age because of breathlessness,or have to stop for breath when walking at my own pace
  4. I stop for breath after walking about 100 yards or after a few minutes on level ground.
  5. I am too breathless to leave the house or I am breathless when dressing.

A comprehensive description of the above techniques can be found on the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Toolkit website.