Shorter walk tests such as the 3-minute walk test correlate with the 6-minute walk test in pulmonary arterial hypertension, suggesting they may be useful alternatives.
Does the 3-minute walk test correlate with the 6-minute walk test in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension?
Extract The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is a simple measure of functional capacity in patients with cardiopulmonary diseases 1, 2. Six minutes was selected over 2-minutes and 12-minutes “as a sensible compromise” 3. A 1-minute walk test was proposed as an alternative to the 6MWT in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), demonstrating correlation with established measures 4. In interstitial lung disease, desaturation nadir can be identified during 3-minutes of walking 5. Similarly, in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a 3-minute walk test (3MWT) has shown correlation with 6MWT, suggesting shorter tests may be useful 6.
Lachant et al. (2026) studied this question. Shorter walk tests such as the 3-minute walk test correlate with the 6-minute walk test in pulmonary arterial hypertension, suggesting they may be useful alternatives.