Functional assessment of cardiovascular performance after a short periodo f exercise as prescription: an evaluation by 6 minute walking test

Aim: Exercise as Prescription represents a therapy in many chronic diseases. More recently the employment of the 6 Minute Walking Test (6MWT) for a regular evaluation has been spread. The study is aimed to verify the role of the 6MWT in predicting the progressive improvement of the heart performance. Methods: Eleven hypertensive patients, were enrolled for this study. At the beginning (T0) and after 5 months (T5) of exercise program, at least three times a week at moderate intensity, a 6MWT was carried out to evaluate: meters (m), Peak Heart Rate (PHR), Peak Respiratory Rate (PRR), Systolic and Diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP). In the same session an Echocardiographyc exam was performed. Results: After 5 months there was a trend: the distance in 6 minutes was in T0: 567,27±66,65 m in T5: 599,09±81,42 m. The PHR was in T0:134,36±12,13 b/min in T5:136,00±10,30 b/min, PRR resulted in T0:30,00±4,38 r/min in T5:31,45±4,95 r/min. The SBP was in T0:137,73±14,89 mmHg in T5:143,64±12,67 mmHg, while the DBP mean values were in T0:75,27±7,80 mmHg in T5:70,91±5,84 mmHg. The Echocardiographyc parameters didn’t show any statistical differences. Conclusion: A short period of exercise as prescription improves the effort tolerance showed by the HR response at the peak of the exercise. The 6 MWT seems to be a sensible test much more than echo parameters whose modifications need a longer period of observation. Otherwise the lung’s response to the exercise does not seem to be apparently easy estimated in presence of exercise program at moderate intensity.