Effects of Cardiac Rehabilitation in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials
Bibliographic record
Abstract
To assess the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), given previous reviews have included scant trials from these settings and the great need there. Six electronic databases (PubMed, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and APA PsycINFO) were searched from inception-May 2020. Randomised controlled CR (i.e., at least initial assessment and structured exercise; any setting; some Phase II) trials with any clinical outcomes (e.g., mortality and morbidity, functional capacity, risk factor control and psychosocial well-being) or cost, with usual care (UC) control or active comparison (AC), in acute coronary syndrome with or without revascularization or heart failure patients in LMICs were included. With regard to data extraction and data synthesis, two reviewers independently vetted identified citations and extracted data from included trials; Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane’s tool. Certainty of evidence was ascertained based on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework. A random-effects model was used to calculate weighted mean differences and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Twenty-six trials (6380 participants; 16.9% female; median follow-up = 3 months) were included. CR meaningfully improved functional capacity (VO2peak vs UC: 5 trials; mean difference [MD] = 3.13 ml/kg/min, 95% CI = 2.61 to 3.65; I2 = 9.0%); moderate-quality evidence), systolic blood pressure (vs UC: MD = -5.29 mmHg, 95% CI = -8.12 to -2.46; I2 = 45%; low-quality evidence), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (vs UC: MD = -16.55 mg/dl, 95% CI = -29.97 to -3.14; I2 = 74%; very low-quality evidence), body mass index (vs AC: MD = -0.84 kg/m2, 95% CI = -1.61 to −0.07; moderate-quality evidence; I2 = 0%), and quality of life (QoL; vs UC; SF-12/36 physical: MD = 6.05, 95% CI = 1.77 to 10.34; I2 = 93%, low-quality evidence; mental: MD = 5.38, 95% CI = 1.13 to 9.63; I2 = 84%; low-quality evidence), among others. There were no evidence of effects on mortality or morbidity. Qualitative analyses revealed CR was associated with lower percutaneous coronary intervention, myocardial infarction, better cardiovascular function, and biomarkers, as well as return to life roles; there were other non-significant effects. Two studies reported low cost of home-based CR. Low to moderate-certainty evidence establishes CR as delivered in LMICs improves functional capacity, risk factor control and QoL. While more high-quality research is needed, we must augment access to CR in these settings. PROSPERO (CRD42020185296).
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.035 | 0.069 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.004 | 0.002 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.031 | 0.036 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.013 | 0.011 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.005 | 0.004 |
| Open science | 0.003 | 0.002 |
| Research integrity | 0.003 | 0.003 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.005 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".