mMRC Dyspnoea Scale

Name: mMRC Dyspnoea Scale calculator — MedScore
Creator: Nabil Alzein

Modified Medical Research Council breathlessness grade 0–4 (used in GOLD COPD assessment)

mMRC grade

Tap the one that applies — its meaning opens right below.

0 — breathless only with strenuous exercise

1 — short of breath when hurrying on the level or walking up a slight hill

2 — walks slower than people of the same age on the level because of breathlessness, or has to stop for breath when walking at own pace on the level

3 — stops for breath after walking about 100 m or after a few minutes on the level

4 — too breathless to leave the house, or breathless when dressing or undressing

About this score

When to use

Grades breathlessness in daily life from 0 to 4; in the GOLD COPD assessment, a grade of 2 or more marks a more symptomatic patient. ⁦[1, 2]⁩

Pearls and pitfalls

• In 100 patients with COPD, the MRC grade was associated with shuttle walking distance, health status, mood and daily activities, but not with FEV₁ — disability is only weakly related to lung function. ⁦[1]⁩

• The original MRC scale is numbered 1–5; the modified scale numbers the same steps 0–4. ⁦[1, 2]⁩

Summarised from the numbered sources under Evidence. Check the source before relying on a statement.

Evidence

[1] Original publication

Bestall JC, Paul EA, Garrod R, et al. Usefulness of the Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnoea scale as a measure of disability in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. MRC grade was associated with shuttle walking distance, health status, mood and daily activities, but not with FEV₁.

Thorax, 1999

Open source

[2] Guideline

Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) report. Grades the modified MRC scale 0–4; mMRC ≥ 2 marks a more symptomatic patient in the GOLD assessment.

GOLD, 2025

Open source

Last reviewed: 2026-10

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MedScore is an educational and clinical decision-support tool. It does not provide a diagnosis, a treatment, or a drug-dosing recommendation, and it does not replace clinical judgement or local guidelines. Confirm every result against the original source before acting on it. The treating clinician remains responsible for all decisions.