title: Six-minute walk distance predicts VO₂ (max) in patients supported with continuous flow left ventricular assist devices.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Six-minute walk distance (6MWD) and maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂ max ) are used as prognostic tools in patients with heart failure (HF). Whether these tests provide similar information in the LVAD population is not known.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight patients supported with VentrAssist rotary blood pump LVADs, underwent three days of testing that included 6MWD and VO₂ max at normal, high or low speeds, generating twenty-four paired results.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean 6MWD was 438 (+/- 90 SD) m and the mean VO₂ (max) was 14.12 (+/-1.87) ml/kg/min. There was a modest correlation between VO₂ (max) and 6MWD (r = 0.56 p = 0.004), which improved (r = 0.72 p = 0.002) when patients with higher resting Pro BNP levels and larger left ventricular end diastolic diameters (LVEDD) were excluded.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  6MWD is correlated with VO₂ (max) in LVAD supported patients, with higher correlations in patients with better underlying cardiac function.
authors.affiliation: 2 Center for Cardiovascular and Chronic Care, University of Technology, Sydney - Australia.
authors.forename: Roslyn A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Prichard
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Juul
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gazibarich
authors.forename: Patricia M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: Carmel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mason
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Keogh
authors.forename: Peter S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Macdonald
authors.forename: Christopher S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Hayward
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology*; D011379:Prognosis; D055815:Young Adult