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Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare but serious disease with symptoms as dyspnea, fatigue and intolerance to exercise. The treatment is mainly pharmacological with physical exercise as an important complement. The 6 minutes walking test (6MWT) is used today worldwide for assessment and follow-up of the PAH patient. Objective: The aim of this study was to, among a PAH-population in Norrland, examine the 6-minutes walking test variables walking distance, ∆dyspnea and Δsaturation according to change over time and correlation between the variables. A further objectice was to examine any differences between four different PAH risk groups according to ∆dyspné och Δsat. Method:  This study is a retrospective register study based on the Umeå/Sundsvall part of the Swedish patient registry SPAHR. A total of 69 patients were examined at the time of diagnosis and at follow-up after 12 ± 3 months regarding 6MWT. Results: A significantly longer walkning distance was measured at follow-up comepared to baseline (284 m (IQR 187-410) vs 322 m (IQR 240 - 435), p < 0,001). A negative but weak correlation existed  at baseline between walking distance and Δsat (r = -0.23, p= 0.022) and at follow-up (r = -0.27, p= 0.033). No significant difference regarding Δsaturation and Δdyspnea could be seen between the risk groups.  Conclusion: Also this study demonstrates that the walking distance is the measure that is seen to vary over time, while Δsaturation and Δdyspnea have not been shown to do so. The weak correlation that could be detected between walking distance and Δsaturation raises the idea that it may be a factor that strengthens or weakens the result measured in meters and could thus possibly increase the informational value of the 6MWT. However, the results of this study indicate that desaturation and estimated dyspnea are not factors that correlate with the walking distance (and thus the patient's functional working capacity). Other variables such as quality of life and fear of movement may need to be estimated by the patient group to be able to evaluate and plan both pharmacological treatment and physical exercise, and to see if it can predict the outcome of the treatment. This should be studied scientifically.

Thesis (M.A.)--Queen's University at Kingston, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.