Without measuring your asthma regularly, you will have difficulty knowing if interventions are improving your asthma or if your asthma is worsening. As a result, asthma may be limiting your day-to-day activities and you might not even realize it.
By reviewing the table below, you can classify your asthma severity based on the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) guidelines as either:
Intermittent Mild persistent Moderate persistent Severe persistent
Your asthma severity is based on the criteria described below. You classify yourself based on your worst symptom. For example, if you are waking up two nights per month with a cough or feeling short of breath, your asthma is in the intermittent asthma severity classification.
If you have symptoms two days per week, use your rescue inhaler two times per week, have a normal FEV1 between exacerbations, but wake up at night three times per week, your asthma severity is moderate persistent. Your asthma treatment will, in part, be based on your asthma severity.
Asthma Severity
Severity is based on symptoms associated with poor asthma control. The table uses the following criteria to determine asthma severity:
Symptoms: How many days in the past week have you experienced chest tightness, cough, shortness of breath, or wheezing? Nighttime awakenings: How often do you wake up at night with chest tightness, cough, shortness of breath, or wheezing? Rescue inhaler use: How many times in the last week have you used your rescue inhaler? FEV1: What is your current lung function measured with spirometry? Unlike the other above symptoms, your FEV1 will not be readily available at home; you will need to ask your healthcare provider when pulmonary function tests are performed.
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