Pharmacological trials including patients with more severe heart failure were more likely to show a significant improvement with therapy than trials of milder heart failure .
Using mean values in these trials , the age of patients appeared a more important determinant of 6MWT distance than New York Heart Association classification .
The 6MWT has not yet been proven to be a robust test for the identification of effective pharmacological interventions although it appears useful for the assessment of cardiac resynchronization therapy .
The results of the 6MWT were concordant with changes in symptoms , suggesting that it may be used as supportive evidence for symptom benefit .
AIMS The 6 min walk test ( 6MWT ) is commonly used in clinical trials to assess treatments for heart failure , but its ability to distinguish between effective and ineffective treatments is question able .
The aim of this study is to investigate , using a systematic literature review , the utility of the 6MWT as a measure of the effectiveness of treatment in r and omized controlled trials of heart failure .
Reproducibility and responsiveness of quality of life assessment and six minute walk test in elderly heart failure patients
Objective To examine the reproducibility and responsiveness to change of a six minute walk test and a quality of life measure in elderly patients with heart failure . Design Longitudinal within patient study . Subjects 60 patients with heart failure ( mean age 82 years ) attending a geriatric outpatient clinic , 45 of whom underwent a repeat assessment three to eight weeks later . Main outcome measures Subjects underwent a st and ardised six minute walk test and completed the chronic heart failure question naire ( CHQ ) , a heart failure specific quality of life question naire .  Intraclass correlation coefficients ( ICC ) were calculated using a r and om effects one way analysis of variance as a measure of reproducibility . Guyatt ’s responsiveness coefficient and effect sizes were calculated as measures of responsiveness to change . Results 24 patients reported no major change in cardiac status , while seven had deteriorated and 14 had improved between the two clinic visits . Reproducibility was satisfactory ( ICC > 0.75 ) for the six minute walk test , for the total CHQ score , and for the dyspnoea , fatigue , and emotion domains of the CHQ . Effect sizes for all measures were large ( > 0.8 ) , and responsiveness coefficients were very satisfactory ( > 0.7 ) . Effect sizes for detecting deterioration were greater than those for detecting improvement . Conclusions Quality of life assessment and a six minute walk test are reproducible and responsive measures of cardiac status in frail , very elderly patients with heart failure
Pharmacological trials including patients with more severe heart failure were more likely to show a significant improvement with therapy than trials of milder heart failure .
Using mean values in these trials , the age of patients appeared a more important determinant of 6MWT distance than New York Heart Association classification .
The 6MWT has not yet been proven to be a robust test for the identification of effective pharmacological interventions although it appears useful for the assessment of cardiac resynchronization therapy .
The results of the 6MWT were concordant with changes in symptoms , suggesting that it may be used as supportive evidence for symptom benefit .
AIMS The 6 min walk test ( 6MWT ) is commonly used in clinical trials to assess treatments for heart failure , but its ability to distinguish between effective and ineffective treatments is question able .
The aim of this study is to investigate , using a systematic literature review , the utility of the 6MWT as a measure of the effectiveness of treatment in r and omized controlled trials of heart failure .