Exergames in exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation for patients with heart failure: a systematic review

The aim of this study was to systematically review the current literature on the use of exergames as an exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation intervention for patients with heart failure.

PubMed, SCOPUS and CINAHL Plus databases were searched from January 2007 to August 2023. Studies considered eligible for inclusion had to report one or more of the following outcomes: functional capacity (e.g. VO 2 max), quality of life, mortality, hospital admissions, physical activity level, and engagement/satisfaction of the intervention. Only studies reported in English were included. Two reviewers independently assessed studies for their eligibility.

Two studies (in four reports) were included. Included studies reported only data on functional capacity (6-min walking test) and on physical activity level (accelerometers). Due to the low number of included studies, no meta-analysis was performed, and results were discussed narratively.

Exergames may potentially be a promising tool for exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation in patients with heart failure; however, the low number of included studies was insufficient to drawn proper conclusions. Benefits of exergames compared with traditional interventions could be the possibility of it being delivered at home, reducing some of the barriers that patients with heart failure must face. Further studies are required to assess the efficacy of exergame interventions in patients with heart failure, and to define proper guidelines to deliver exergame interventions in this population.This systematic review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42023446948).