Effects of cardiac telerehabilitation versus center-based cardiac rehabilitation on cardiorespiratory…

Meta-analysisBMC cardiovascular disorders· Jul 2026

Effects of cardiac telerehabilitation versus center-based cardiac rehabilitation on cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis.

Xingjie Zhong, Jiangqin Wu, Liping Li, Peiyun Feng

Cardiopulmonary RehabilitationMeta-analysisTreatmentQ2IF 3.1

Cardiac telerehabilitation matches center-based rehab for fitness gains after coronary artery disease

Effects of cardiac telerehabilitation versus center-based cardiac rehabilitation on cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis.

Xingjie Zhong … Peiyun Feng

BMC cardiovascular disorders · Jul 2026

Background

Cardiac telerehabilitation (cardiac telerehabilitation) has emerged as an alternative to center-based cardiac rehabilitation (center-based cardiac rehabilitation) for patients with coronary artery disease (coronary artery disease), but its effectiveness in improving cardiorespiratory fitness remains uncertain.

Purpose

This meta-analysis aimed to compare the effects of cardiac telerehabilitation versus center-based cardiac rehabilitation on maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2max ) in patients with coronary artery disease.

Methods

A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Wanfang, and CNKI was conducted for relevant randomized controlled trials (randomized controlled trials).

n = 896 patients

Results

no meaningful fitness difference between telerehab and center-based programs

MD 0.02 (95% CI -0.71 to 0.74)

CI crosses the null - not significant

More results

Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the findings.

Subgroup analyses showed consistent results across most factors.

More results

However, greater improvements were observed in studies with higher baseline VO 2max (p for subgroup difference = 0.03) and longer follow-up (> 26 weeks) (MD: 0.90 mL/kg/min, 95% CI: 0.05 to 1.75; p for subgroup difference = 0.01).

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Conclusion · 1 of 2

Cardiac telerehabilitation provides comparable improvements in VO 2max to center-based cardiac rehabilitation in patients with coronary artery disease.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

Potential benefits may be greater in patients with higher baseline fitness and with longer follow-up, although further high-quality trials are warranted.

Effects of cardiac telerehabilitation versus center-based cardiac rehabilitation on cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis.

Effects of cardiac telerehabilitation versus center-based cardiac rehabilitation on cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis.

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