Collins, Sean P.Thorn, MichaelNowak, Richard M.Levy, Phillip D.Fermann, Gregory J.Hiestand, Brian C.Cowart, Tillman DouglasVenuti, Robert P.Hiatt, William R.Foo, ShiYinPang, Peter S.2018-03-132018-03-132017-09-11Collins, S. P., Thorn, M., Nowak, R. M., Levy, P. D., Fermann, G. J., Hiestand, B. C., … Pang, P. S. (2017). Feasibility of Serial 6-min Walk Tests in Patients with Acute Heart Failure. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 6(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm60900842077-0383https://hdl.handle.net/1805/15444Background: Functional status assessment is common in many cardiovascular diseases but it has undergone limited study in the setting of acute heart failure (AHF). Accordingly, we performed a pilot study of the feasibility of the six-minute walk test (6MWT) at the emergency department (ED) presentation and through the hospitalization in patients with AHF. Methods and Results: From November 2014 to February 2015, we conducted a multicenter, observational study of ED patients, aged 18–85 years, whose primary ED admission diagnosis was AHF. Other criteria for enrollment included a left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40%, systolic blood pressure between 90 and 170 mmHg, and verbal confirmation that the patient was able to walk >30 m at the baseline, prior to ED presentation. Study teams were uniformly trained to administer a 6MWT. Patients underwent a baseline 6MWT within 24 h of ED presentation (Day 1) and follow-up 6MWTs at 24 (Day 2), 48 (Day 3), and 120 h (Day 5). A total of 46 patients (65.2% male, 73.9% African American) had a day one mean walk distance of 137.3 ± 78 m, day 2 of 170.9 ± 100 m, and day 3 of 180.8 ± 98 m. The 6MWT demonstrated good reproducibility, as the distance walked on the first 6MWT on Day 3 was similar to the distance on the repeated 6MWT the same day. Conclusions: Our pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of the 6MWT as a functional status endpoint in AHF patients. A larger study in a more demographically diverse cohort of patients is necessary to confirm its utility and association with 30-day heart failure (HF) events.en-USAttribution 3.0 United States6 min walk testacute heart failureemergency departmentArticle