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 .
A controlled trial of digoxin in congestive heart failure.
Because of conflicting results from studies examining the usefulness of digoxin in congestive heart failure ( CHF ) patients in sinus rhythm , a cross-over trial was conducted in which 20 patients received 7 weeks of digoxin titrated to a level of 1.54 to 2.56 nmol/liter and 7 weeks of matched placebo .  The order of treatments was determined by r and om allocation and patients , clinicians and research staff were blind to allocation . In patients with deteriorating condition , the treatment period was terminated and outcome measures were obtained . If deterioration occurred during the first period , the patient was crossed over without the code being broken . Seven patients required premature termination of study periods because of increasing symptoms of CHF .  All 7 were taking placebo at the time ( p = 0.016 ) . Small differences in dyspnea ( p = 0.044 ) , walking test score ( p = 0.055 ) , clinical assessment of CHF ( p = 0.036 ) and ejection fraction ( p = 0.004 ) favored the digoxin treatment group . Patients with more severe CHF were more likely to benefit from digoxin administration . It was concluded that oral digoxin , in doses titrated to produce a serum level of 1.54 to 2.56 nmol/liter , improved quality of life and functional exercise capacity in some patients with CHF in sinus rhythm
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 .