title: [The usefulness of the 6-minute walk test in patients with chronic heart failure in 6-month observation].
abstract: The severity of chronic heart failure (CHF) is usually evaluated by using the New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification. However this method is not good to assess the efficacy of therapy. There is no correlation between the severity of CHF measured by echocardiographic examination of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and NYHA classification. We investigated the usefulness of the 6-minute walk test to determinate the physical activity in patients with CHF. Studies were performed in 50 patients with symptomatic CHF and LVEF no more than 45%. Six-minute walk test, assessment of NYHA class and LVEF were performed. Changes in the treatment were done between first and second part of the investigation. We observed some changes in LVEF value (between the 1st and the 2nd stage of our study) as well as in NYHA classification (between the 1st and the 2nd stage and between the 2nd and the 3rd stage). We did not noticed essential changes in 6-minute walk tests results. We observed negative correlation between the distance walked in six-minute walk test and the NYHA class in examined patients through all study time. There was some dependence indicated between the LVEF and the 6-minute walk test distance in the first stage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The severity of CHF graded with NYHA classification correlates with the 6-minute walk test distance in patients with CHF. The dependence between LVEF, NYHA class and 6-minute walk test results in treated patients with CHF diminish.
authors.affiliation: Oddzialu Kardiologii Szpitala Miejskiego w Rudzie Slaskiej
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krauze-Wielicka
authors.forename: Sławomir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kasperczyk
authors.forename: Brygida
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Przywara
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fudal
authors.forename: Dariusz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lesik
authors.forename: Edyta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gromnicka
authors.forename: Eliza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dalecka
authors.forename: Edyta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Simońska
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods*; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013318:Stroke Volume; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left; D016138:Walking