Value of 6-minute walking in rehabilitation therapy of patients with chronic heart failure / 心血管康复医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective: To explore value of 6-minute walking in rehabilitation therapy of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Methods: A total of 78 CHF patients were selected from department of geriatrics of our hospital. They were randomly and equally divided into 6min walking test (6MWT) group (received 6-min walking training based on routine treatment, twice/d) and routine treatment group. After six weeks, 6min walking distance (6MWD), heart rate and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were compared between two groups before and after treatment. Results: After six weeks, there were significant improvements in related indexes in both groups, P<0.05 all; compared with routine treatment group, there were significant increase in 6MWD [(307.6±39.3) m vs. (503.4±44.4) m] and LVEF [(45.3±17.9) % vs. (58.7±19.2) %], and significant decrease in heart rate of recovery period after 6MWT [(73.3±2.9) times/min vs. (65.7±2.1) times/min] in 6MWT group, P<0.05 all. Conclusion: Six-minute walking can significantly improve symptoms of heart failure and enhance exercise tolerance, and it possesses important value for recovery of heart function in these patients.