The impact of various mind-body exercises on cardiorespiratory function and quality of life in heart failure patients: A network meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to compare the relative effects of different mind-body exercises on cardiorespiratory function and quality of life in Heart failure (HF) patients, providing valuable insights for their rehabilitation.

METHODS

We conducted a search across seven Chinese and English databases, including China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Web of Science. A network meta-analysis was performed using STATA 14.0 within a frequentist framework.

RESULTS

A total of 38 studies were included, encompassing eight types of mind-body exercises. Ten studies reported peak VO, indicating that dancing outperformed Tai Chi (MD:3.52, 95 % CI:6.74, -0.30) and Baduanjin (MD:2.34, 95 % CI:4.32, -0.36). Additionally, Pilates demonstrated greater effectiveness than Yijinjing, aside from Tai Chi (MD:5.10, 95 % CI:8.71, -1.49) and Baduanjin (MD:3.92, 95 % CI:6.50, -1.34). Twenty-one studies reported the six-minute walk test (6MTW), with only Tai Chi significantly improving 6MTW scores compared to the control group (MD: 50.77, 95 % CI: 8.12, 93.42). Twenty-three studies assessed left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), finding that Tai Chi (MD: 3.83, 95 % CI: 2.07, 5.59), Baduanjin (MD: 2.90, 95 % CI: 1.04, 4.76), and yoga (MD: 3.32, 95 % CI: 0.37, 6.27) significantly increased LVEF in HF patients. Nineteen studies evaluated quality of life, with the Liuzijue possibly being the most effective intervention (SUCRA: 98.9).

CONCLUSION

Different mind-body exercises have their own advantages in improving the heart function and quality of life of HF patients. In the future, higher-quality studies with larger samples are needed to further verify the validity of the results.