A new study says that a regular exercise regime can significantly improve quality of life in heart failure patients.

The study led by Duke University Medical Center showed that exercise is not only safe for patients, but also helps to improve the quality of their lives. They fare better and feel good about their lives than similar patients who do not work out on a regular basis.

During the study, the researchers randomized participants to receive either standard care or standard care plus an exercise program.

The exercise regimen consisted of three months of supervised aerobic training on a bicycle or treadmill, followed by instruction for continued home-based training.

They had also set the exercise goal at five, 40-minute workouts, or 200 minutes of exercise per week. Participants reached about 60 percent of that goal at one year.

The researchers assessed the changes in the quality of life with the help of a Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ).

At three months, patients in both groups showed improvement, with patients in the usual care group registering a three-point gain on the KCCQ score and those in the exercise group showing a five-point gain. Previous reports had defined a five-point gain as clinically significant.

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