Tele-Rehabilitation for Patients with Cardiovascular Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis | ||||
| The Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine | ||||
| Article 121, Volume 99, Issue 1, April 2025, Page 2217-2227 PDF (435.39 K) | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejhm.2025.432238 | ||||
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| Abstract | ||||
| Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of global morbidity and mortality. Conventional cardiac rehabilitation, though effective, suffers from poor accessibility and adherence. Tele-rehabilitation (TR) has emerged as a potential alternative to center-based programs aiming to improve clinical outcomes through remote, technology-enabled interventions. Objective: This study aimed to systematically assess the effectiveness of tele-rehabilitation on exercise capacity, health related quality of life, and physical activity among patients with cardiovascular diseases. Methods: A systematic search of six electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, PEDro, Cochrane CENTRAL, Scopus, and Virtual Health Library) were conducted. Inclusion criteria comprised randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing TR to conventional cardiac rehabilitation or usual care in adult CVD patients. Data extraction, quality appraisal (Using the PEDro scale), and level of evidence assessment (Modified Sackett’s scale) were conducted independently by two reviewers. Meta-analyses were performed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) software when homogeneity allowed, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to examine robustness. Results: Seven RCTs involving 1,567 patients were included and 4 studies were included in the meta-analysis. TR significantly improved exercise capacity (VO₂peak, 6MWD, METs) in most studies, with pooled VO₂peak SMD = 0.18 (95% CI: –0.01 to 0.37; p = 0.07) and pooled 6MWD SMD = 0.62 (95% CI: –0.31 to 1.56; p = 0.19). HRQoL showed heterogeneous effects: disease-specific measures (EQ-5D, MLHFQ) improved significantly in some studies, while physical function using (SF-36) showed no differences between groups. Conclusions: Tele-rehabilitation demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements in exercise capacity and health related quality of life among patients with cardiovascular diseases. Meta-analysis supports the role of TR as a feasible and effective alternative to traditional cardiac rehabilitation. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Cardiac tele-rehabilitation; Cardiovascular diseases; Exercise capacity; Quality of life; Systematic review | ||||
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