Calculators · Respiratory Medicine · Classification

mMRC dyspnoea scale

Also called modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale, MMRC, MRC breathlessness scale

Grades breathlessness-related disability from 0 to 4.

Which best describes the breathlessness?

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Formula and scoring

Single grade 0–4 by self-report.

Exam and ward pearls

  • Bestall et al. used the original 1–5 MRC numbering; check which version a paper uses before comparing grades.
  • The scale measures disability from breathlessness and correlates poorly with FEV₁.

When not to rely on it

  • A patient limited by something other than breathlessness (e.g. arthritis) will be mis-graded.

Source

  1. 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. Thorax. 1999;54(7):581-6. doi:10.1136/thx.54.7.581 · PMID 10377201
  2. Ekström M, Sundh J, Schiöler L, et al. Absolute lung size and the sex difference in breathlessness in the general population. PLoS One. 2018;13(1):e0190876. (States the mMRC grade 0-4 descriptors.) doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0190876 · PMID 29304074

Formula and cut-offs checked against these sources on 8 Nov 2026. Educational tool for clinicians; it does not replace clinical judgement.

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