Note on MMRC gradient
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dyspnea AND mMRC
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modified Medical Research Council mMRC dyspnea scale grades official
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https://site.thoracic.org/assemblies/pr/outcome-measures/dys…
Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) Dyspnea Grade
The mMRC scale is a simple 5-point functional scale that grades breathlessness by the activity that provokes it. Score range: 0 to 4, with higher scores indicating greater activity limitation.
| mMRC grade | Breathlessness description |
|---|---|
| 0 | Breathless only with strenuous exercise. |
| 1 | Short of breath when hurrying on level ground or walking up a slight hill. |
| 2 | Walks more slowly than people of the same age on level ground because of breathlessness, or has to stop for breath when walking at own pace. |
| 3 | Stops for breath after walking about 100 m or after a few minutes on level ground. |
| 4 | Too breathless to leave the house, or breathless when dressing or undressing. |
Clinical use
- Commonly used in COPD symptom assessment, including GOLD assessment.
- It measures the functional impact of dyspnea, not lung function or oxygenation directly.
- A score of mMRC 2 or more is often considered a higher symptom burden in COPD assessment frameworks.
- It takes less than a minute and can be self- or clinician-administered.
Memory aid:
0 strenuous, 1 hill/hurry, 2 same-age/slow, 3 100 m, 4 dressing/door.
0 strenuous, 1 hill/hurry, 2 same-age/slow, 3 100 m, 4 dressing/door.
The scale is supported in Fishman’s Pulmonary Diseases and Disorders, where it is presented as grades 0-4 based on activity limitation. The American Thoracic Society outcome-measure summary describes it as a one-item tool that grades breathlessness according to activity level.
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