Cardiac Rehab Cuts Heart Attack Risk by 28 Percent in Major Cochrane Review

Exercise based cardiac rehabilitation cuts heart attack risk by 28 percent and hospital admissions by 35 percent for heart patients, a Cochrane review finds.

Researchers led by the University of Glasgow pooled 107 randomized controlled trials covering 26,886 people, most of whom had a heart attack, a heart procedure or chest pain.

Compared with no rehabilitation, the programs probably also reduce deaths and improve physical functioning, vitality, social functioning and mental wellbeing.

The update added 22 trials with just under 3,500 participants, and the evidence suggests home based and digital programs can work as well as those in a center.

Newer trials from low and middle income countries tested culturally familiar exercise such as yoga in India and tai chi in China.

Women made up only 17 percent of participants, and uptake lags, reaching 44.5 percent in England and 71.3 percent in Wales for acute coronary syndrome patients.

Lead author Grace Dibben calls rehab inexpensive but underfunded, and senior author Rod Taylor says digital programs could reach people who cannot attend a center.

The headline percentages are relative, so the absolute gain is smaller: one heart attack is prevented for every 71 participants over six to 12 months, Medical News Today reports. Home programs could reach people whose jobs, transport or caring duties prevent regular hospital visits. Yet access alone does not settle whether the results apply equally to everyone: women accounted for only 17 percent of participants. Exercise after a heart attack still requires professional evaluation and clinical guidance. Watch whether the next trials recruit more women and measure who actually completes rehabilitation outside a clinic.