Six-Minute Walk Distance Predicts VO2 (max)in Patients Supported with Continuous Flow Left Ventricular Assist Devices

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 maxat normal, high or low speeds, generating twenty-four paired results.Results The mean 6MWD was 438 (+/- 90 SD) m and the mean VO2was 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.