Exercise tolerance
Exercise tolerance may be assessed by:
- Incremental Shuttle Walk Test (ISWT) – The ISWT is available from Dr Sally Singh, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Glenfield Hospital NHS Trust, Groby Road, Leicester LE3 9QP, UK or email: [email protected].
(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
- I only get breathless with strenuous exercise.
- I get short of breath when hurrying on level ground or walking up a slight hill.
- 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
- I stop for breath after walking about 100 yards or after a few minutes on level ground.
- 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.
