The relationship of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation and the quality of life of patients after myocardial infarction

Background: The aim of the present review is to identify the relationship of an exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation program (exCR) and quality of life in patients after myocardial infarction.
Design: The following databases were searched: Medline databases (via PubMed), and Scopus /Elsevier. Additional relevant research was also identified by direct search in scientific journals available online. The review included studies designed to primary evaluate the quality of life of an exCR program with no limitation about the publication date. Case reports and case series were excluded. Data were extracted by one reviewer and checked by a second reviewer.
Results: The results are presented as per the PRISMA reporting guideline. The articles that finally met all the inclusion criteria and were analyzed, after the screening of the title, the summary and the whole text, were 6. A total of 694 patients who received exCR were examined in this review.
Discussion: The present review indicates that an exCR program improves the quality of life for the patients with myocardial infarction and that quality of life improvements have a bidirectional relationship with increased physical activity and vocational status.