2016 Volume 11 Pages 111-123
The effective cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains controversial. We performed a meta-analysis to examine the effects of CR on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with CVD. We searched MEDLINE, PubMed, The Scientific Electronic Library Online, Google Scholar (from the earliest date available to September 2016) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the effects of CR versus control on quality-of-life (HRQOL) in CVD. Mean differences (MDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, and heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 test. Six studies met the selection criteria (total 482: 261 CR and 221 control patients). The results suggested that CR compared with control had a positive impact on HRQOL. Global HRQOL Physical Component Summary (SF-PCS) standardized mean differences (4.77, 95%CI 2.32 to 7.22, p=0.0001) and Mental Component Summary (SF-MCS) score 2.65 (95%CI -3.96 to 9.27, n=294, p=0.43) improved in the CR group compared to the control group. Our results suggest that CR compared with control had a positive impact on HRQOL. CR enhances HRQOL in patients with CVD Larger RCTs are required to further investigate the effects of CR in patients with CVD.
