The 10 m incremental shuttle walk test is a highly reliable field exercise test for patients referred to cardiac rehabilitation: a retest reliability study

ObjectivesTo determine the retest reliability of the 10 m incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) in a mixed cardiac rehabilitation population.DesignParticipants completed two 10 m ISWTs in a single session in a repeated measures study. Ten participants completed a third 10 m ISWT as part of a pilot study.SettingHospital physiotherapy department.Participants62 adults aged a mean of 68 years (SD 10) referred to a cardiac rehabilitation program.Main outcome measuresRetest reliability of the 10 m ISWT expressed as relative reliability and measurement error. Relative reliability was expressed in a ratio in the form of an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and measurement error in the form of the standard error of measurement (SEM) and 95% confidence intervals for the group and individual.ResultsThere was a high level of relative reliability over the two walks with an ICC of .99. The SEMagreement was 17 m, and a change of at least 23 m for the group and 54 m for the individual would be required to be 95% confident of exceeding measurement error.ConclusionsThe 10 m ISWT demonstrated good retest reliability and is sufficiently reliable to be applied in practice in this population without the use of a practice test.