Email a Friend
Print ArticleHealthy Aging Health Center
This article is from the WebMD News Archive
Waltz Your Way to Better Heart Health
Nov. 13, 2006 (Chicago) -- For someone with mild to moderate heart failure, dancing lessons may be the perfect gift this holiday season.
In a new study, people with heart failure who took up waltzing breathed better, exercised longer, and generally felt better.
Dancing boosted heart health just as much as exercise, says researcher Romualdo Belardinelli, MD, a professor of cardiology at Università Politecnica delle Marche School of Medicine and director of cardiac rehabilitation and prevention at Lancisi Heart Institute in Ancona, Italy.
Dancing really had the edge in helping people's sense of well-being, he tells WebMD.
The study was presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2006.
Exercise and Live Longer
Belardinelli says studies have shown that people with heart failure who get regular exercise live longer and have a better quality of life than their sedentary counterparts.
"But long-term adherence to exercise programs is not very high, with as many as 70% of patients dropping out over time," he says. "We have to find new ways to reach them."
Belardinelli says the researchers chose the waltz because of its universal appeal. But other slow dances should work as well, he says.
The study included 89 men and 21 women with mild to moderate heart failure.
Heart failure happens when the heart's pumping action weakens. This causes fluid to build up in your lungs and other body tissues. People with mild to moderate heart failure can walk around, and even go up and down stairs, yet they run out of breath much sooner and can't exercise as long as healthy people.
Forty-four men and women participated in a supervised exercise program consisting of cycling and walking on a treadmill three times a week for eight weeks. Another 44 people danced, alternating between slow five-minute waltzes and fast three-minute waltzes for 21 minutes, three times a week for eight weeks. The rest of the participants did not exercise.
Dancers Utilize Oxygen More Efficiently
The researchers showed that both exercise and waltzing boosted heart health and improved breathing.
"A well-trained athlete utilizes oxygen very efficiently, so his muscles don't demand as much oxygen-containing blood per minute. This is what allows him or her to exercise harder and further than the average person," says Elliott M. Antman, MD, a heart specialist at Harvard Medical School who was not involved with the study.
"Similarly, dancing and exercise both helped heart failure patients to utilize their oxygen more efficiently, thereby allowing them to exercise more without running out of breath," says Antman, who is also an AHA spokesman.
Specifically, an 18% improvement in oxygen use was seen among the dancers and a 16% improvement was seen in the exercise group. These measurements were unchanged in the group that did not exercise.
Quality of life, as measured by the survey, improved more among the dancers.
"Dancing appears to be an attractive and fun way for heart failure patients to get their exercise," says Antman. "I highly recommend it."
American Heart Association former President Robert O. Bonow, MD, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, says part of dancing's benefits may come from the fact that people are interacting socially as opposed to walking on a treadmill by themselves.
Healthy Aging Guide
Indication
Uroxatral® (alfuzosin HCl 10 mg extended-release tablets) is an alpha1-blocker for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of BPH.
Important Safety Information
Do not take UROXATRAL if you have liver problems or if you are taking antifungal drugs like ketoconazole or itraconazole, or HIV drugs like ritonavir.
UROXATRAL can cause a sudden drop in blood pressure, especially when starting treatment. This may lead to fainting, dizziness, and lightheadedness. Do not drive, operate machinery, or do any dangerous activity until you know how UROXATRAL will affect you. This is especially important if you already have a problem with low blood pressure or take medicines to treat high blood pressure. There may be an increased risk of low blood pressure and fainting when taking UROXATRAL in combination with blood pressure medication or nitrates, or erectile dysfunction medication.
If considering cataract surgery (clouding of the eyes), tell your eye surgeon that you are currently taking UROXATRAL or have previously been treated with an alpha-blocker.
Before taking UROXATRAL, tell your doctor if you have kidney problems.
Also, tell your doctor if you or any family member(s) have or take medications for a rare heart condition known as congenital prolongation of the QT interval.
BPH and prostate cancer can cause the same symptoms. However, UROXATRAL is not a treatment for prostate cancer.
The most common side effects with UROXATRAL are dizziness, upper respiratory tract infection, headache, and tiredness.
Please see UROXATRAL full prescribing information.
VIVELLE-DOT (estradiol transdermal system) IS AVAILABLE BY PRESCRPTION ONLY.
INDICATION
Vivelle-Dot is used after menopause to: reduce moderate to severe hot flashes; treat moderate to severe dryness, itching and burning in or around the vagina; help reduce your chances of getting osteoporosis (thin weak bones); and treat certain conditions in which a young woman's ovaries do not produce enough estrogens naturally. Vivelle-Dot 0.025 mg/day is only used to prevent osteoporosis from menopause. If you use Vivelle-Dot only to treat your dryness, itching, and burning in and around your vagina or if you use Vivelle-Dot only to prevent osteoporosis from menopause, talk with your healthcare professional about whether a different treatment or medicine without estrogens might be better for you.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Estrogens increase the chances of getting cancer of the uterus (womb). Report any unusual vaginal bleeding right away while you are taking estrogens. Vaginal bleeding after menopause may be a warning sign of cancer of the uterus (womb).
Do not use estrogens with or without progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, or strokes. Using estrogens with or without progestins may increase your chances of getting heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, and blood clots. Using estrogens with progestins may increase your risk of dementia (decline in memory and thinking skills).
Vivelle-Dot should not be used if you have unusual vaginal bleeding; currently have or have had certain cancers, including cancer of the breast or uterus; had a stroke or heart attack in the recent past (for example, in the past year); currently have or have had blood clots; currently have or have had liver problems; or think you may be, or know that you are, pregnant.
The most common side effects that may occur with Vivelle-Dot are headache, breast tenderness, and back pain.
You and your healthcare professional should talk regularly about whether you still need treatment with Vivelle-Dot.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see Full Prescribing Information for Vivelle-Dot.
Do You Need an Annual Check Up?
Are annual checkups worth your time and money? Not everyone agrees.
Do Your Hands Reveal Your Age?
