Activity Intolerance: Nursing Diagnosis & Care Plan
🎓 Educational reference. Match to your patient's actual assessment data and have your instructor review it.
Definition: The patient runs out of energy, breath, or cardiovascular reserve before everyday activities are finished.
What is the Activity Intolerance nursing diagnosis related to?
- Reduced oxygen-carrying capacity
- Deconditioning
- Imbalance between oxygen supply and demand
What is Activity Intolerance evidenced by?
- Fatigue and weakness
- Dyspnea or abnormal HR/BP with activity
- Reports of exhaustion
What are sample goals for the Activity Intolerance nursing diagnosis?
- Patient performs daily activities with reduced fatigue and stable vitals within the care period.
Which nursing interventions go with the Activity Intolerance diagnosis?
- Monitor vitals and tolerance during activity
- Plan rest periods and pace activities
- Treat the underlying cause (e.g., anemia)
Where do these Activity Intolerance recommendations come from?
The wording above is our own, written from widely taught nursing fundamentals; it is not copied from NANDA-I. For background on the underlying health problem, these public sources were read on October 21, 2026:
Turn this diagnosis into a full care plan → the free Care Plan Builder adds assessment, SMART goals, interventions with rationale, and evaluation, then exports it.
Which care plans use the Activity Intolerance diagnosis?
Anemia care plan
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Heart Failure care plan
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COPD care plan
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Coronary Artery Disease care plan
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Build a care plan freeActivity Intolerance nursing diagnosis: FAQ
What is the Activity Intolerance nursing diagnosis?
The patient runs out of energy, breath, or cardiovascular reserve before everyday activities are finished.
What are the related factors for Activity Intolerance?
Common related factors: Reduced oxygen-carrying capacity; Deconditioning; Imbalance between oxygen supply and demand. In your care plan, write it as "Activity Intolerance related to [factor] as evidenced by [your patient's data]."
What are nursing interventions for Activity Intolerance?
Key interventions: Monitor vitals and tolerance during activity; Plan rest periods and pace activities; Treat the underlying cause (e.g., anemia), each with a rationale in your plan.
For nursing education only, NOT medical advice and not a clinical decision-making tool. Nothing here should be used to assess, diagnose, or treat any real patient. Care plans and answers are unverified study drafts to review with your instructor or a licensed clinician and adapt to the individual patient and your institution’s protocols before any use.
Educational content in standard clinical language; not medical advice and not affiliated with NANDA-I/NIC/NOC.