Hospital San Carlos Office, which belongs to the HLA Hospital Group, has incorporated a new 'submaximal cardiopulmonary stress test' to its portfolio of services. This novel test is used to assess exercise capacity and also measures the distance traveled for six minutes.
"The six-minute walk test is used for the diagnosis, staging, prognosis and follow-up of patients with chronic respiratory diseases," says the specialist, reports Dr. Isabel Amara, a pulmonologist at the hospital. The specialist affirms that the test is essential in the comprehensive assessment of the patient with respiratory disease, since it allows assessing the response to prescribed medical treatments.
To use this test, trained healthcare personnel record the degree of dyspnea (suffocation), heart rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, level of fatigue and the meters reached of the patient. The results obtained are always evaluated by a pulmonologist.
The prerequisites for performing the test on the patient are to have a light breakfast, take the usual medication, wear comfortable clothes and shoes, and not have exercised hours before the test. Patients can also use their usual walking aids such as canes, crutches, walker, etc.
Dr. Amara recalls: «This test, novel in the area of the Marina Alta, it cannot be performed by those people who have suffered an acute myocardial infarction less than a month ago, nor by people with a serious uncontrolled illness.
HLA Hospital Group
The HLA Hospital Group is one of the largest hospital providers in Spain. It is made up of 17 hospitals and 36 multispecialty medical centers with reference units in state-of-the-art treatments. They work in an integrated way to provide access to high-level healthcare.
HLA is a benchmark in hospital and outpatient care. It has 1.300 hospitalization places and 40 years of experience. Its professionals guarantee a model of care that is based on excellence, innovation, responsibility and a humane and close relationship with the patient.
In 2020, the HLA Hospital Group was the first healthcare company to certify its protocols against COVID-19 throughout its healthcare network. This certificate is another step in HLA's strategy for excellence and quality of care.
