AIM: To investigate the effect of six-minute walking training on left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in chronic heart failure (HF) patients. METHODS: Sixty-two NYHA II to III HF patients were randomly divided into two groups according to stratified sampling, training group (n = 33) and control group (n = 29). LVE F and 6-minute walking training were conducted within 24 hours after the patient was admitted. Then the patients of two groups were treated with routine drugs for heart failure, but six-minutes walking training was only performed in the training group twice a day for 8 weeks of treatment. The above parameters were investigated again at the end of the training. RESULTS: The symptoms were improved and walking distance was extended significantly in HF patients after exercise. When the cardiac function was grade II and III respectively, the distance in the t raining group was 492 +/- 56 m and 386 +/- 49 m respectively, significantly longer than that in the control group (386 +/- 49 m and 297 +/- 40 m respectively) after 8 weeks of treatment. When the cardiac function was grade II and III respectively, the LVEF before treatment was 0.56 +/- 0.06 and 0.51 +/- 0.04 in the training group respectively, significantly higher than that in the control group (0.52 +/- 0.055 and 0.48 +/- 0.06 respectively, t = 2.10 to 3.81, p < 0.05 to 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Six -minute walking training significantly improves the LVEF in HF patient.

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