CARDIAC SELF TEST. DO IT YOURSELF 6MWT

I have always been keen that patients and the general population must take an active role in their healthcare. Empowering the patient and individual is probably the best way to maintain good health and reduce healthcare cost. well the latest study published in the June 11th issue of Archives of Internal Medicine will help us do that.
Dr Alexis Beatty and colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco, undertook a study as part of the Heart And Soul study. They identified 556 patients and individuals who were prepared to undergo a six minute walk test. They were then tested to see how far the individuals could walk over 6 minutes, on the flat. They were then divided into 4 quartiles, depending on how far each could walk. As part of a larger, these patients were followed for an average of 8.1 years. They found that those who could walk the furthest had the lowest risk of heart disease, and those who could walk the least, had the highest risk of heart disease and death.

End point	Q1, n=139	Q2, n=139	Q3, n=139	Q4, n=139
6-min-walk distance (m)	87-419	420-480	481-543	544-837
Treadmill exercise capacity (METS)*	5.1	7.1	8.6	10.6
Death, MI, or HF (%)	61.9	43.2	30.2	21.6

As an estimate, 90 meters is about 100 yards, and 850 meters, is about 930 yards.

End point	HR (95% CI)*	p
Heart failure	1.38 (1.04-1.82)	0.03
MI	1.36 (1.00-1.85)	0.047
Death	1.25 (1.04-1.50)	0.02
Heart failure, MI, or death	1.30 (1.10-1.53)	0.002

They also found that those who walk in the lowest quartile ( 87-400M ) had a 30% increase incidence of developing heart failure, MI or dying over the average follow-up period of 8 years. Now these are strong numbers

I just wanted to highlight that this simple 6MWT is something that you and I can do easily and should do regularly, to see if we are at risk of heart disease and at risk of getting heart failure, MI or dying.
It is important to note that this 6MWT is not infallible and there are instances of false positive like in patients with chronic obstructive airways disease, patients with renal failure, patients with anemia from whatever cause. But nevertheless it is an easy way of doing a cardiac check at your convenience in your own back yard.
So I think we should all do it, if we love our heart and our health and our life.