Six-Minute Walk Test Enhanced by Mobile Telemetric Cardiopulmonary Monitoring

Background: The 6-min walk test (6MWT) is frequently used to assess overall cardiopulmonary fitness and to predict outcome, but it yields little diagnostic information. Portable telemetric devices allow performing the 6MWT with real-time cardiopulmonary monitoring. Objectives: The study was designed to analyze feasibility, safety and clinical usefulness of a mobile cardiopulmonary monitoring (MOB)-enhanced 6MWT. Methods: From August 2003 to June 2007, 261 consecutive patients with chronic lung and/or heart disease as well as healthy controls underwent MOB-enhanced 6MWTs. A subgroup of 33 individuals had the test done with and without cardiopulmonary monitoring on independent days. Results: No test-related adverse events occurred throughout the study. Whether the 6MWT was done without or with cardiopulmonary monitoring (n = 33) did not significantly influence the walking distance (WD: 528 ± 183 vs. 525 ± 192 m; nonsignificant). Fifty-nine percent (155/261) of the patients fulfilled the maximal test criteria. Distinct disease-specific exercise response patterns as well as treatable co-pathologies were observed. The validity of response patterns was better in case of a maximal test. Conclusion: An MOB-enhanced 6MWT is feasible within daily routine and safe in patients with various diseases. It does not negatively affect WD. MOB is a valuable tool to identify factors limiting exercise in patients irrespective of their underlying disease.

[1]  R. D. du Bois,et al.  Heart rate recovery after 6-min walk test predicts survival in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. , 2009, Chest.

[2]  P. Postmus,et al.  Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test Characteristics in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Associated Pulmonary Hypertension , 2007, Respiration.

[3]  R. Baughman,et al.  Six-minute walk test and health status assessment in sarcoidosis. , 2007, Chest.

[4]  J. E. Cotes,et al.  Recommendations on the use of exercise testing in clinical practice , 2007, European Respiratory Journal.

[5]  P. Bresser,et al.  Six-minute walk distance as parameter of functional outcome after pulmonary endarterectomy for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. , 2007, The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery.

[6]  F. D'Ovidio,et al.  Six-minute-walk distance predicts waiting list survival in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. , 2006, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.

[7]  C. Schindler,et al.  Feasibility of mobile cardiopulmonary exercise testing. , 2006, Swiss medical weekly.

[8]  R. Naeije,et al.  Physiological response to the six-minute walk test in pulmonary arterial hypertension , 2005, European Respiratory Journal.

[9]  Florent Baty,et al.  Optimized between-group classification: a new jackknife-based gene selection procedure for genome-wide expression data , 2005, BMC Bioinformatics.

[10]  A. Torbicki,et al.  Pulmonary arterial hypertension: evaluation of the newly diagnosed patient. , 2005, Seminars in respiratory and critical care medicine.

[11]  C. Bolliger,et al.  Preoperative assessment for lung cancer surgery , 2005, Current opinion in pulmonary medicine.

[12]  J. Barberà,et al.  Encouraged 6-min walking test indicates maximum sustainable exercise in COPD patients. , 2005, Chest.

[13]  Thierry Troosters,et al.  Mechanisms of improvement in exercise capacity using a rollator in patients with COPD. , 2004, Chest.

[14]  David R Hillman,et al.  Physiologic responses to incremental and self-paced exercise in COPD: a comparison of three tests. , 2004, Chest.

[15]  E. Wouters,et al.  Myopathological features in skeletal muscle of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , 2003, European Respiratory Journal.

[16]  R. Ross,et al.  ATS/ACCP statement on cardiopulmonary exercise testing. , 2003, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.

[17]  P. Palange,et al.  Non-invasive evaluation of gas exchange during a shuttle walking test vs. a 6-min walking test to assess exercise tolerance in COPD patients , 2003, European Journal of Applied Physiology.

[18]  X. Busquets,et al.  Systemic effects of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , 2003, European Respiratory Journal.

[19]  J. Barberà,et al.  Physiological responses to the 6-min walk test in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , 2002, European Respiratory Journal.

[20]  R. Hetzer,et al.  Assessment of Survival in Patients With Primary Pulmonary Hypertension: Importance of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing , 2002, Circulation.

[21]  J. E. Hansen,et al.  Exercise Pathophysiology in Patients With Primary Pulmonary Hypertension , 2001, Circulation.

[22]  M. Rubenfire,et al.  Oxygen desaturation on the six-minute walk test and mortality in untreated primary pulmonary hypertension. , 2001, The European respiratory journal.

[23]  C. Bolliger,et al.  Exercise capacity and extent of resection as predictors of surgical risk in lung cancer. , 2000, The European respiratory journal.

[24]  M. Fujita,et al.  Clinical correlates and prognostic significance of six-minute walk test in patients with primary pulmonary hypertension. Comparison with cardiopulmonary exercise testing. , 2000, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.

[25]  A. Giordano,et al.  Assessment of oxygen uptake during the six-minute walk test in patients with heart failure. , 1997, Chest.

[26]  S. Kesten,et al.  The six-minute walk test: a guide to assessment for lung transplantation. , 1997, The Journal of heart and lung transplantation : the official publication of the International Society for Heart Transplantation.

[27]  R. Carter,et al.  An Evaluation of Integrated Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing in a Pulmonary Function Laboratory , 1995, Scottish medical journal.

[28]  P. Paré,et al.  Prediction of heart rate and oxygen uptake during incremental and maximal exercise in healthy adults. , 1994, Chest.

[29]  C. Stanford,et al.  Oxygen consumption during corridor walk testing in chronic cardiac failure. , 1992, European heart journal.

[30]  B BALKE,et al.  A SIMPLE FIELD TEST FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF PHYSICAL FITNESS. REP 63-6. , 1963, [Report]. Civil Aeromedical Research Institute.

[31]  M. Lehmann,et al.  [Walking test before decision on mitral commissurotomy]. , 1953, Journal de medecine de Lyon.

[32]  J. E. Hansen,et al.  Cardiopulmonary exercise testing and six-minute walk correlations in pulmonary arterial hypertension. , 2006, The American journal of cardiology.

[33]  G. Kervio,et al.  Reliability and intensity of the six-minute walk test in healthy elderly subjects. , 2003, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[34]  ATS statement: guidelines for the six-minute walk test. , 2002, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.

[35]  D. Brooks,et al.  A qualitative systematic overview of the measurement properties of functional walk tests used in the cardiorespiratory domain. , 2001, Chest.