People who live with chronic diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure (CHF), connective tissue diseases (CTD), chronic kidney disease (CKD), liver cirrhosis, pulmonary hypertension (PH), obesity, etc., gradually lose their ability to perform every-day activities due to their illness. The decline of their performance status can be measured with various simple methods, such as the 6 minute walking test (6MWT). Although simple methods are widely used in the assessment of the performance status of people who live with chronic diseases, these cannot provide a complete profile of the patients' abilities, similar to that of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET).

CPET is an examination which is not widely used in every-day clinical practice due to the need for sophisticated equipment and highly trained staff, not to mention its rather high cost. Nevertheless, in the majority of the chronic diseases, the assessment of the initial performance status of the patients, at the time of diagnosis, is of critical importance for the prognosis,. Furthermore, the follow up of various indices, measured with the use of CPET, is one of the most reliable methods, in the assessment of various therapeutic interventions. In addition to that, recent advances have rendered CPET more easily accessible to a larger number of clinicians. The goal of the present research topic is to highlight the aforementioned advantages of CPET in the management of chronic diseases.

In this research topic, through manuscripts of: Original Research, Systematic Reviews, Methods, Reviews, Policy and Practice Reviews, Hypothesis & Theory, Clinical Trials, Registered Reports, Mini Reviews, Perspectives, Case Reports, Conceptual Analysis, Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy, Policy Brief and Brief Research Reports, we will try to consolidate the knowledge about the advantages of CPET, compared to other methods:

- in the initial assessment of the performance status of patients with chronic diseases.

- in the follow-up of patients with chronic diseases.

- in the assessment of various therapeutic interventions in patients with chronic diseases.

- in the prognosis of patients with chronic diseases.

- in every other aspect related with the management of people who live with chronic diseases.

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Frontiers in Sports and Active Living

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