Effectiveness of Cardiac Rehabilitation on Health-Related Quality of Life in Coronary Artery Disease Patients in Low and Middle-Income Countries

This meta-analysis of published studies was conducted to determine the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in terms of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in post-coronary artery disease (CAD) patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Eighteen studies were identified from six countries (Malaysia, Iran, Brazil, Turkiye, China, and Pakistan) totalling 2,620 study participants with a mean age of 57.43 ± 7.9 years. Significantly higher mean physical (13.48, 95% CI: 7.75 to 19.21, p <0.001) and mental (11.52, 95% CI: 4.44 to 18.60, p <0.001) component scores were observed in the CR group compared to the usual group. The myocardial infarction- specific MacNew QLMI domains also showed significant mean differences (1.59, 95% CI: 0.97 to 2.21, p <0.001). This systematic review and meta-analysis showed significant improvements in physical and mental HRQoL in the CR group compared to the control group among post-CAD patients in LMIC. Furthermore, the myocardial infarction-specific MacNew QLMI global domain shows significant improvement in the CR group compared to the usual care group. Key Words: Acute coronary syndrome, Cardiac rehabilitation, Quality of life, Short-form 36, MacNew quality of life after myocardial infarction.