Waltz dancing in patients with chronic heart failure: new form of exercise training.

Background: There is evidence that aerobic exercise improves functional capacity in patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II and III chronic heart failure. However, it is unknown whether dancing is safe and able to improve functional capacity in patients with chronic heart failure.

Methods And Results: We prospectively studied 130 patients with stable chronic heart failure (107 men; mean age, 59+/-11 years) in New York Heart Association class II and III and left ventricle ejection fraction <40%.