Some types of exercise interventions are more effective than others in people with coronary heart disease: systematic review and network meta-analysis

What are the effects of different types of exercise treatments on oxygen consumption, quality of life and mortality in people with coronary heart disease? Systematic review with network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Adults with coronary heart disease. Exercise interventions including aerobic (continuous or high-intensity interval) training, resistance training, respiratory muscle exercises, water-based exercises, yoga, Tai chi, Qigong exercises and a combination of different types of exercise. Oxygen consumption, quality of life and mortality. This review included 178 randomised controlled trials with 19,143 participants. Several exercise interventions improved peak oxygen consumption (mL/kg/min): high-intensity interval training (MD 4.5, 95% CI 3.7 to 5.4); combined water-based exercises and moderate-intensity continuous training (MD 3.7, 95% CI 1.3 to 6.0); combined aerobic and resistance exercise (MD 3.4, 95% CI 2.5 to 4.3); water-based exercises (MD 3.4, 95% CI 0.6 to 6.2); combined respiratory muscle training and aerobic exercise (MD 3.2, 95% CI 0.6 to 5.8); Tai chi (MD 3.0, 95% CI 1.0 to 5.0); moderate-intensity continuous training (MD 3.0, 95% CI 2.3 to 3.6); high-intensity continuous training (MD 2.7, 95% CI 1.6 to 3.8); and resistance training (MD 2.2, 95% CI 0.6 to 3.7). Quality of life was improved by yoga (SMD 1.5, 95% CI 0.5 to 2.4), combined aerobic and resistance exercise (SMD 1.2, 95% CI 0.6 to 1.7), moderate-intensity continuous training (SMD 1.1, 95% CI 0.6 to 1.6) and high-intensity interval training (SMD 0.9, 95% CI 0.1 to 1.6). All-cause mortality was reduced by continuous aerobic exercise (RR 0.67, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.86) and combined aerobic and resistance exercise (RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.36 to 0.94). Continuous aerobic exercise also reduced cardiovascular mortality (RR 0.56, 95% CI 0.42 to 0.74). People with coronary heart disease may use a range of exercise modalities to improve oxygen consumption, quality of life and mortality. PROSPERO CRD42022344545.