Traditional center-based cardiac rehabilitation had low adherence rates. With the increasing utilization of digital technology in healthcare services, telehealth can overcome common barriers to improve adherence, and some telehealth interventions have been proven safe and effective. However, it remains unclear which telehealth intervention types can maximize the efficacy and adherence for cardiac rehabilitation. To compare the effect of different types of telehealth interventions on the efficacy and adherence of patients with cardiovascular disease in cardiac rehabilitation. Systematic review and network meta-analysis. We systematically searched PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, CINAHL, ProQuest, Scopus, and Embase databases for randomized controlled trials of telehealth cardiac rehabilitation for cardiovascular disease patients from January 2013 to March 2024. The primary outcomes were peak oxygen uptake (VO 2 peak) and adherence. Secondary outcomes included 6-minute walking distance, moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity, depression, self-reported quality of life, and patient satisfaction. The study protocol has been registered on PROSPERO (ID: CRD42023459643). This network meta-analysis included 46 randomized controlled trials. The results indicated that telehealth cardiac rehabilitation improved VO 2 peak, 6-minute walking distance, moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity, and adherence. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) results showed that the Wearable Devices plus Smartphone Applications (SUCRA 86.8%, mean rank 1.7) was the most effective telehealth intervention for improving VO 2 peak. The Smartphone Application plus Instant Communication Tools (SUCRA 74.2%, mean rank 2.6) was the most effective telehealth intervention for promoting adherence. Combining two or more types of telehealth interventions was found to be effective. Future efforts should prioritize conducting high-quality randomized controlled trials to identify more effective combinations with traditional cardiac rehabilitation.
With permission from Excerpta Medica Inc.

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