Study: Effect of Encouragement on Six Minute Walk Test Performance

Link to study information: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04586725

Country: United Kingdom

Start date: 2020-10-14

Publications: "Does the level of encouragement affect 6-minute walk test performance in patients with intermittent claudication? A protocol for a randomised multicentre controlled trial", Whorlton-Jones ER, Seed SA, Waddell A, Caldow E, Harwood AE, Birkett ST, J.Vasc.Soc.G.B.Irel. 2022;1(4):137-140, https://doi.org/10.54522/jvsgbi.2022.028

Abstract: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is characterised by a build up of fatty plaque in the arteries in the lower limbs, resulting in a reduction of blow flow to the muscles. Globally, it is estimated that 236 million people are living with PAD. A classic symptom of PAD is intermittent claudication (IC) which is characterised by muscle cramps in the lower limbs, typically brought on by exercise and relieved at rest. Exercise is recommended at first line treatment for IC. However to assess IC symptoms in response to an exercise study, maximal walking capacity (the furthest they can walk before it becomes too painful to walk) is typically the main measure. A patients walking capacity is assessed by a number of exercise testing protocols including the six-minute walk test (6MWT), where patients walk for six minutes with the aim to walk as far as they can in the time allotted. Patient encouragement has been shown to improve walking performance by as much as 30 meters in heart failure and respiratory disease populations. However the effect of encouragement on walking performance in people with IC is yet to be studied.