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 .
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of supplemental oral L-arginine in patients with heart failure.
BACKGROUND Patients with heart failure have reduced peripheral blood flow at rest , during exercise , and in response to endothelium-dependent vasodilators . Nitric oxide formed from L-arginine metabolism in endothelial cells contributes to regulation of blood flow under these conditions . A r and omized , double-blind crossover study design was used to determine whether supplemental oral L-arginine can augment peripheral blood flow and improve functional status in patients with moderate to severe heart failure . METHODS AND RESULTS Fifteen subjects were given 6 weeks of oral L-arginine hydrochloride ( 5.6 to 12.6 g/d ) and 6 weeks of matched placebo capsules in r and om sequence . Compared with placebo , supplemental oral L-arginine significantly increased forearm blood flow during forearm exercise , on average from 5.1 + /- 2.8 to 6.6 + /- 3.4 mL. min-1 . dL-1 ( P < .05 ) . Furthermore , functional status was significantly better on L-arginine compared with placebo , as indicated by increased distances during a 6-minute walk test ( 390 + /- 91 versus 422 + /- 86 m , P < .05 ) and lower scores on the Living With Heart Failure question naire ( 55 + /- 28 versus 42 + /- 26 , P < .05 ) . Oral L-arginine also improved arterial compliance from 1.99 + /- 0.38 to 2.36 + /- 0.30 mL/mm Hg ( P < .001 ) and reduced circulating levels of endothelin from 1.9 + /- 1.1 to 1.5 + /- 1.1 pmol/L ( P < .05 ) . CONCLUSIONS Supplemental oral L-arginine had beneficial effects in patients with heart failure . Further studies are needed to confirm the therapeutic potential of supplemental oral L-arginine and to identify mechanisms of action in 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 .