OBJECTIVE: This meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of telerehabilitation for heart failure compared to either usual medical care or centre-based rehabilitation on 6-minutes walking distance (6MWD) and peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak). At the same time, we wanted to explore the effects of different telerehabilitation strategies on exercise capacity in heart failure patients. METHOD: We conducted a search in five databases, namely PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and CBM. The search was conducted up until 4th, 2024. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Revised Cochrane Risk-of-bias Tool for Randomised Trials. Statistical analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.4. The study included a total of 11 articles. RESULT: We included 11 randomised controlled trials that incorporated 13 different rehabilitation strategies. We found that a randomised controlled trial providing tele-rehabilitation was more effective than usual care in improving patients' 6MWD (p < 0.00001; MD 18.43, 95%CI 14.63 to 22.21), as well as VO2 peak (p < 0.0001; MD1.23, 95%CI 0.67 to 1.78). CONCLUSION: The review suggests that remote rehabilitation enhances exercise capacity and cardiopulmonary function in heart failure patients who have been discharged. In the future, such rehabilitation measures could be an effective alternative to hospital-based rehabilitation.

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