Background: Low confidence to exercise is a barrier to engaging in exercise in heart failure patients. Participating in low to moderate intensity exercise, such as the six-minute walk test, may increase exercise confidence. Aim: To compare the effects of a six-minute walk test with an educational control condition on exercise confidence in heart failure patients. Methods: This was a prospective, quasi-experimental design whereby consecutive adult patients attending an out-patient heart failure clinic completed the Exercise Confidence Scale prior to and following involvement in the six-minute walk test or an educational control condition. Results: Using a matched pairs, mixed model design ( n=60; 87% male; Mage=58.87±13.16), we identified a significantly greater improvement in Total exercise confidence ( F(1,54)=4.63, p=0.036, partial η2=0.079) and Running confidence ( F(1,57)=4.21, p=0. 045, partial η2=0.069) following the six-minute walk test compared to the educational control condition. These benefits were also observed after adjustment for age, gender, functional class and depression. Conclusion: Heart failure patients who completed a six-minute walk test reported greater improvement in exercise confidence than those who read an educational booklet for 10 min. The findings suggest that the six-minute walk test may be used as a clinical tool to improve exercise confidence. Future research should test these results under randomized conditions and examine whether improvements in exercise confidence translate to greater engagement in exercise behavior.
The six-minute walk test of the patient followed for heart failure in Brazzaville
