A simple, easy to perform functional exercise capacity test.
Has the ability to predict outcomes in patients with heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and pulmonary disease.
Provides at low-cost, prognostic information in ambulatory patients with coronary heart disease.
In the study of 556 patients stable coronary heart disease followed for up to eight years, cardiovascular events occurred in 218 or 39.2%:Patients in the lowest quartile of the six minute walk test distance had four times the rate of cardiovascular events as those in the highest quartile (Beatty AL et al).
In the above study each SD decrease in the six minute walk test distance was associated with a 55% higher rate of cardiovascular events.
When added to the traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors this test results in a reclassification improvement of 39% and is comparable with treadmill exercise capacity.