Six-minute walk test on a special treadmill: Primary results in healthy volunteers.

Background: The guidelines approved by the American Thoracic Society in 2002 definitely recognize the six-minute walk test (6MWT) as a useful tool for the evaluation of physical efficiency in individuals with at least moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure and intermittent dysbasia. So far, the American Thoracic Society has not approved the use of a treadmill to determine the six-minute walking distance (6MWD) because patients are unable to pace themselves on a treadmill. The purpose of our work was to prove that these problems could be avoided if physical efficiency is evaluated with the use of a modified treadmill.