Pedometers and Walking Tests for Pulmonary Hypertension Patients

Concordance between walking tests and pedometer data may seem like a logical outcome for pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients. However, many individuals have discordant results: results much worse or better during an in-hospital walking test as compared to real life activity. The primary objective of this study is: to determine variables associated with discordance between the distance walked during an in-hospital 6-minute walking test (6MWT) and the average distance travelled per day (observed over a period of 28 days (2 × 14 days) using a pedometer) among PH patients.

Secondarily, the discordance between 6MWT results versus total pedometer recorded distance and versus maximum daily pedometer-recorded distance will be similarly studied. The aim of the study is also to search for variables associated with progression free survival. The relationships between pedometer data and self-reported dyspnea variation will be studied. Factorial analysis may be used to study the overall view of variable correlations and patient similarity/dissimilarity.