Functional Capacity Assessment
The Six-Minute Walk test (6MWT) is a simple and low-cost assessment,
which was performed following the recommendations of the American
Thoracic Society (ATS). The 6MWT is performed on a flat surface, free of
obstacles and with 30 meters. Before performing the test, the patient
rests for 10 minutes, during this period, some data such as blood
pressure (using the Premium Aneroid sphygmomanometer and Littmann 3M
stethoscope), pulse oximetry (Pulse Oximeter - Rossmax), level dyspnea
(Borg scale), heart rate (assessed by palpation of the radial artery and
counting over a period of one minute) and respiratory (assessment by
checking the respiratory incursion over the period of one minute).
Therefore, the patient was asked to walk as quickly as possible, for six
minutes, the therapist must observe the patient’s physiological
responses and finally the distance covered according to the variables of
each individual. This test is currently considered the best indicator
for measuring functional capacity, in addition to considering the risk
of returning to the hospital, it also observes the patient’s performance
when related to activities of daily living13.
During the entire 6MWT process, the patient was monitored, the test
could be interrupted if found: heart rate below 20% of the baseline,
increased systolic and / or diastolic blood pressure greater than 30%
of the base, increased respiratory rate above 25 incursions per minute
and peripheral oxygen saturation <90%.