Although many cardiopulmonary patients require home care services, the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is unusable in most dwellings for objectively evaluating exercise capacity because it requires a 20 -30 meter hallway. To meet this need, we developed a 2-minute step test (2MST): stepping up and down an 8 inch step for 2 minutes (1 step = bilateral step up + step down). Purpose: Evaluate the statistical validity, reproducibility, and sensitivity of the 2MST in assessing exercise capacity. Method:

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... compared the heart rate, oxygen saturation and perceived exertion obtained during performance of 2MST with those obtained during the 6MWT. Results: Comparing 2MST and 6MWT in 158 subjects for validity, r = 0.925 (P < 0.0001). They were statistically equivalent in heart rate (98 ± 4 and 94 ± 4 bpm), oxygen saturation (96 ± 0.5 and 95 ± 0.6%), rating of perceived exertion (14.6 ± 0.4 and 13.4 ± 0.4), and blood pressure (130 ± 4/62 ± 3 and 128 ± 3/62 ± 2 mmHg), (mean ± SE, 2MST and 6MWT, respectively). Reproducibility revealed small learning effects: 8% and 5% for the 2MST and 6MWT, respectively (P < 0.001). Sensitivity of the 2MST was high, based both on the number of steps achieved by inpatients (27 ± 13 steps, mean ± SD), outpatients (48 ± 14 steps), and healthy subjects (64 ± 18 steps) (P < 0.001), and by the outpatients before (36 ± 11 steps) and after (42 ± 14 steps) rehabilitation (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The 2MST is valid, reproducible, sensitive, safe, well-tolerated, and is a suitable substitute for the 6MWT.