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 .
Effect of Erythropoietin on Exercise Capacity in Patients With Moderate to Severe Chronic Heart Failure
Background — Patients with chronic heart failure ( CHF ) are frequently anemic . An increase in hemoglobin could enhance exercise performance by increasing oxygen delivery . We investigated the effect of erythropoietin ( EPO ) on exercise performance in anemic patients with CHF . Methods and Results —Twenty-six anemic patients aged 57±11 years were r and omized to receive EPO ( 15 000 to 30 000 IU per week ) or placebo for 3 months . Parameters measured at baseline and end therapy included blood parameters ( hemoglobin , hematocrit , plasma volume ) , exercise parameters ( peak oxygen consumption [ & OV0312;o2 ] , exercise duration , 6-minute walk ) , muscle aerobic metabolism ( half-time of & OV0312;o2 and near infrared recovery ) , and forearm vasodilatory function .  EPO was well tolerated by all patients . Twelve patients in the  EPO  group felt improvement versus 1 in the placebo group ( P < 0.05 ) . There were significant increases in hemoglobin ( 11.0±0.5 to 14.3±1.0 g/dL , P < 0.05 ) , peak & OV0312;o2 ( 11.0±1.8 to 12.7±2.8 mL · min−1 · kg−1 , P < 0.05 ) and exercise duration ( 590±107 to 657±119 s , P < 0.004 ) in the EPO group but no significant changes in the control group . Resting and hyperemic forearm vascular resistance and indices of the rate of muscle oxidative capacity were unchanged in both groups . Conclusion —EPO significantly enhances exercise capacity in patients with CHF . One mechanism of improvement in & OV0312;o2 is increased oxygen delivery from increased hemoglobin concentration
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 .