BEIJING, April 8 (Xinhuanet) -- People with heart failure will benefit from regular exercise as it may reduce their risk of death or hospitalization, says a new study.

    The findings come from a major government-funded trial that enrolled 2,331 people with heart failure at 82 centers in the United States, Canada and France, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health said Tuesday.

    Some people were started on a 36-session training program and advised to have regular sessions of aerobic-type exercise, such as walking on a treadmill for 25 or 30 minutes, five times a week. Others were told to stick to a usual-care regimen, which included a passing reference to exercise.

    The hope was that regular exercise would reduce the incidence of death and hospitalization caused by heart failure, the progressive loss of the heart's ability to pump blood. Some 5 million Americans have been diagnosed with heart failure, and it is a leading cause of cardiac death and hospitalization.

    The heart failure patients who added regular, moderate physical activity to standard medical therapy reported a higher quality of life compared to similar patients who received medical therapy only.

    "Many patients and health care providers have continued to be concerned about the safety of aerobic exercise for heart failure," said NHLBI Director Dr. Elizabeth G. Nabel. "With the results of this robust clinical trial, we can now reassure heart failure patients that, with appropriate medical supervision, regular aerobic exercise is not only safe but it can also improve their lives in really meaningful ways."

    (Agencies)