OBJECTIVES: To review the efficacy in terms of quality of life and cardiopulmonary endurance of exercise therapy in patients with chronic heart failure. METHODS: PEDro, PubMed, and Cochrane databases, bibliographic indexes, and relevant citations were searched for relevant randomized clinical trials. The Delphi list was used by three reviewers to assess the methodological quality of all relevant studies. RESULTS: Fifteen studies investigating the effect of active exercise therapy on cardiopulmonary endurance and quality of life were included in the review. Study quality was satisfactory to good, with scores ranging from 3 to 6 on a 9-point scale. All studies showed a positive effect of exercise on cardiopulmonary endurance. Five of the six high-quality studies showed a positive effect on quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: There is evidence that exercise therapy, at a minimal intensity of 50% of VO2max, has a positive effect on cardiopulmonary endurance and quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure.

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