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June 19, 2026Journal of the American College of CardiologyOpen Access

At 12-month follow-up, improvements were seen in 6-min walk test (mean 21.0 m; 95% CI: 1.57 to 40.4 m; p = 0.034) and Minnesota Living With HF score (mean improvement 5.9; 95% CI: 1.0 to 10.9; p = 0.018).

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Why the study?

Does exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation improve health-related quality-of-life and exercise capacity in patients with heart failure?

Population

3,990 patients from 13 randomized trials with heart failure, predominantly with reduced ejection fraction

Comparison

Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation delivered… vs No exercise control group

Design

Meta-analysis, Included studies were randomized trials

Follow-up

12 months

Authors

RTRod S TaylorSWSarah WalkerNSNeil A. Smart

Discussion

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Overview

May improve functional capacity with therapy; confirms primary endpoint benefit in large RCT.

Key Points

  • Assess the impact of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation on health-related quality-of-life and exercise capacity in heart failure patients.
  • Individual participant data meta-analysis of randomized trials comparing exercise rehabilitation (3 weeks or more) to no exercise control.
  • Data collected from 13 trials involving 3,990 patients, primarily with reduced ejection fraction heart failure.
  • Follow-up duration of 6 months or more; investigated interactions between exercise rehabilitation and participant characteristics.
  • Statistically significant improvements in quality-of-life and exercise capacity favoring exercise rehabilitation.
  • At 12-month follow-up, the 6-minute walk test improved by an average of 21.0 meters (95% CI: 1.57 to 40.4 m; p=0.034).
  • The Minnesota Living With Heart Failure score improved by an average of 5.9 points (95% CI: 1.0 to 10.9; p=0.018).

Structured PICO

Does exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation improve health-related quality-of-life and exercise capacity in patients with heart failure?

P
Population
3,990 patients from 13 randomized trials with heart failure, predominantly (97%) with reduced ejection fraction
I
Intervention
Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (ExCR) delivered for 3 weeks or more
C
Comparator
No exercise control group
O
Outcome
Health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) and exercise capacity at follow-up of 6 months or morepatient reported

Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation significantly improves health-related quality of life and exercise capacity in patients with heart failure, supporting current Class I guideline recommendations.

Cite This Study

Taylor et al. (2019) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a34b52adc850f117dd7df0ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2018.12.072
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Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1Cardiac rehabilitation and health‐related quality of life in preserved ejection fraction heart failure: A meta‐analysis2025
  2. 2Exercise-based Cardiac Rehabilitation for Coronary Heart disease – the CaReMATCH individual participant data meta-analysis2025 · 6 citations
  3. 3Exercise based cardiac rehabilitation for atrial fibrillation: Cochrane systematic review, meta-analysis, meta-regression and trial sequential analysis2025 · 14 citations
  4. 4Mediators of the effect of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation on hospitalisation risk in people with coronary heart disease – the CaReMATCH individual participant data meta-analysis2026
  5. 5Impact of different exercise training modalities on patient-reported outcomes in heart failure with reduced and preserved ejection fraction2026