PMID- 8680996
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 19960822
LR  - 20191210
IS  - 1079-5006 (Print)
IS  - 1079-5006 (Linking)
VI  - 51
IP  - 4
DP  - 1996 Jul
TI  - The 6-minute walk as an appropriate exercise test in elderly patients with 
      chronic heart failure.
PG  - M147-51
AB  - BACKGROUND: The value of the 6-minute walk in a population of elderly patients 
      with chronic heart failure (CHF) has not yet been established, as it has been in 
      a younger population. METHODS: In a prospective trial, 2 exercise tests were 
      compared: the 6-minute walk (6 MW) and a treadmill test with progressive 
      increments in workload. 37 patients (mean age 81.3, SD 5.6 years): 11 untrained 
      controls, 16 patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II and 10 
      patients with NYHA class III participated. The main outcome measures were the 
      distance walked in 6 minutes, the symptomatic VO2max in the progressive treadmill 
      test and the degree of CHF as scored by the NYHA classification and the Boston 
      Study Group (BSG) score. RESULTS: For both the 6 MW and the treadmill test there 
      was a significant difference in distance between NYHA class II and III patients 
      (p < .001), between the controls and NYHA class III patients (p < .001), but not 
      between the controls and NYHA class II patients. The distance walked in the 6 MW 
      was well correlated with the distance walked in the treadmill test (p < .001). 
      Eight participants (22%), however, were unable to perform this treadmill test and 
      6 participants (17%) covered very low distances compared to the 6 MW. The VO2max 
      was lower in NYHA class III than in class II patients (p = .032). NYHA 
      classification and BSG score correlated reasonably well. CONCLUSION: A treadmill 
      exercise test with VO2max measurement in elderly patients with CHF is difficult 
      to accomplish. On the contrary, the 6 MW gives a good impression of the remaining 
      exercise capacity. It is well correlated with the treadmill test. The 6 MW is 
      well tolerated by elderly patients and differentiates between NYHA classes II and 
      III. Untrained controls could not be differentiated from NYHA class II patients.
FAU - Peeters, P
AU  - Peeters P
AD  - Department of Internal Medicine, Academic Hospital, Free University Brussels 
      (VUB), Belgium.
FAU - Mets, T
AU  - Mets T
LA  - eng
PT  - Comparative Study
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - United States
TA  - J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci
JT  - The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences
JID - 9502837
SB  - IM
MH  - Aged
MH  - Aged, 80 and over
MH  - Blood Pressure
MH  - Echocardiography
MH  - Exercise Test/*methods
MH  - Exercise Tolerance
MH  - Heart Failure/*physiopathology
MH  - Heart Rate
MH  - Humans
MH  - Outcome Assessment, Health Care
MH  - Oxygen Consumption
MH  - Prospective Studies
MH  - Pulmonary Gas Exchange
MH  - Reproducibility of Results
MH  - Stroke Volume
MH  - Time Factors
MH  - Ventricular Function, Left
MH  - Walking/*physiology
MH  - Work
EDAT- 1996/07/01 00:00
MHDA- 1996/07/01 00:01
CRDT- 1996/07/01 00:00
PHST- 1996/07/01 00:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 1996/07/01 00:01 [medline]
PHST- 1996/07/01 00:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1093/gerona/51a.4.m147 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 1996 Jul;51(4):M147-51. doi: 
      10.1093/gerona/51a.4.m147.