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Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Home-Based Prescribed Pulmonary Exercise in Patients with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Published on: August 24, 2019
Field tests of exercise in COPD: the six-minute walk test and the shuttle walk test
Cynthia D Brown1, Robert A Wise
1Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. rwise@jhmi.edu
Abstract:
Exercise testing is useful to assess the degree of disability, prognosis for survival, presence of exercise-induced hypoxemia, and response to treatment in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Simple walking tests have been developed and are increasingly used in assessment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients for clinical and research purposes. This article reviews how these tests are performed and to what degree they are reliable, and how these tests are used in assessment of individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
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An exercise stress test measures the heart's response to exertion using a treadmill or stationary bicycle. Chest electrodes record the heart's electrical activity through an ECG, and blood pressure is monitored regularly.
Purposes
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