[Exercise test and respiratory muscle function test].

Dyspnea on exertion is a chief complaint of patients with COPD, and it has a major effect on the quality of their lives. Dyspnea is, by definition, subjective, but objective approaches are needed for a comprehensive understanding of these patients' conditions. Thus, measuring changes in cardiopulmonary variables during exercise can be very helpful when evaluating patients with COPD. The main purpose of exercise testing is to evaluate exercise tolerance and to identify the factors limiting exercise. Although incremental exercise testing is ideal for these purposes, simple walking tests such as 6-minute walking test, are also useful.