Current data confirm that the 6MWT , ISWT and ESWT are valid , reliable and responsive to change with some interventions .
However , results are sensitive to small changes in methodology .
Field walking tests are commonly employed to evaluate exercise capacity , assess prognosis and evaluate treatment response in chronic respiratory diseases .
In recent years , there has been a wealth of new literature pertinent to the conduct of the 6-min walk test ( 6MWT ) , and a growing evidence base describing the incremental and endurance shuttle walk tests ( ISWT and ESWT , respectively ) .
The aim of this document is to describe the st and ard operating procedures for the 6MWT , ISWT and ESWT , which can be consistently employed by clinicians and research ers .
Shuttle versus six-minute walk test in the prediction of outcome in chronic heart failure.
We prospect ively analysed the potential usefulness of a symptom-limited walk test , the shuttle walk test ( SWT ) , in the prediction of major cardiac events in 46 consecutive patients with chronic heart failure ( NYHA class II-IV , ejection fraction < 0.40 ) and compared it with that of a time-limited walk test , the six-minute walk test ( 6-MT ) . After a mean follow-up of 17 months ( range , 8 - 28 months ) , 15 of 46 patients ( 33 % ) experienced a major cardiac event , defined as a cardiac death , urgent transplantation , or hospital admission for continuous inotropic or mechanical support . Distance walked in the SWT  was shown to be a predictor of outcome at one year of follow-up ( P=0.03 ) , but distance ambulated in the 6-MT was not ( P=0.07 ) . In multivariate analysis , percentage of age-gender predicted peak oxygen uptake was the best predictor of major cardiac events . When patients were divided into tertiles according to performance in both walk tests , there was an overall difference in event-free survival at 12 months among SWT tertiles ( P=0.004 ) , but not among 6-MT tertiles ( P=0.09 ) . A low performance in the SWT  ( distance ambulated < 450 m ) allowed identification of a subgroup of patients with a high risk for major cardiac events at short-term . We conclude that , in patients with chronic heart failure , distance ambulated in the SWT  predicts event-free survival at one year better than that in the 6-MT
Current data confirm that the 6MWT , ISWT and ESWT are valid , reliable and responsive to change with some interventions .
However , results are sensitive to small changes in methodology .
Field walking tests are commonly employed to evaluate exercise capacity , assess prognosis and evaluate treatment response in chronic respiratory diseases .
In recent years , there has been a wealth of new literature pertinent to the conduct of the 6-min walk test ( 6MWT ) , and a growing evidence base describing the incremental and endurance shuttle walk tests ( ISWT and ESWT , respectively ) .
The aim of this document is to describe the st and ard operating procedures for the 6MWT , ISWT and ESWT , which can be consistently employed by clinicians and research ers .