Interdisciplinary cardiovascular and thoracic surgery
September 11, 2026 · via Europe PMC
Six-minute walk distance and long-term outcomes in contemporary left ventricular assist device recipients: the ELEVATE Registry.
Nielsen WH, Gustafsson F, Shaw S, +8 more, ELEVATE Registry Investigators.
AI summary — for doctors, generated from the abstract only
Six-minute walk distance at 6 months after HeartMate 3 implantation did not independently predict mortality, heart failure recurrence or rehospitalization.
What was studied
Analysis of 194 HM3 recipients with 6MWD at 6 months from the prospective multicentre ELEVATE registry.
Key findings
- No significant survival difference by median 350 m split (p=0.379)
- Adjusted HR for mortality 0.98 per unit (p=0.26)
- Survival free from hemocompatibility-related adverse events marginally different (p=0.049)
Clinical relevance
This suggests 6MWD should not be extrapolated as a prognostic marker in modern LVAD patients as it is in unsupported heart failure.
Who should care
Limitations
Registry subgroup with available 6MWD only, introducing selection bias; modest sample size.
Walking distance doesn't predict survival in stable HeartMate 3 patients the way it does in heart failure.
This is an AI-generated summary of the published abstract, not a clinical recommendation. It may not reflect the full text or subsequent updates — verify against the original source before acting on it.
Abstract
Objectives
This study aimed to assess the prognostic value of Six-minute Walk Distance (6MWD) in stable HeartMate 3 (HM3) recipients.
Methods
Data from patients with available 6MWD at six months post-implant were obtained from the prospective, multicenter ELEVATE registry. Overall survival and adverse event rates were analyzed using Cox regression models adjusted for age and sex, with 6MWD as a continuous predictor, and stratified by median distance (350 m).
Results
6MWD at six months was available in 194 HM3 recipients. Patients walking 350 m showed no significant differences in survival (log-rank p = 0.379), right heart failure (p = 0.334), or rehospitalization (p = 0.243), while survival free from hemocompatibility-related adverse events differed significantly, although marginally (p = 0.049). Cox models confirmed that 6MWD had no independent prognostic value for mortality (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.96-1.01, p = 0.26) or secondary outcomes. However, patients with <median 6MWD experienced higher rates of major bleeding (IRR 2.88, p < 0.001), major infection (IRR 2.14, p < 0.0001), and renal dysfunction (IRR 4.78, p = 0.033).
Conclusions
Shorter 6MWD six months after HM3 implantation was associated with a higher risk of some AEs but was not prognostic for mortality, HF recurrence, or rehospitalization risk. The prognostic value of 6MWD in HF patients without circulatory support cannot be extrapolated to patients treated with current LVADs.
DOI
10.1093/icvts/ivag241
PMID
42726105
Research metadata (titles, abstracts, authors, publication dates) is sourced from Europe PMC, which aggregates content from PubMed/MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and other providers under the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM/NCBI). NLM does not claim copyright on abstracts; the original journal publishers or authors may hold rights to the full articles. AI-generated summaries are derived only from the abstract, never the full text, and are always labeled as AI-generated.
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