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Updated: Jun 15, 2025
A Novel Digital Platform for a Monitored Home-based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program
Published on: April 19, 2019
A Systematic Review of the Completion of Cardiac Rehabilitation Programs for Adults Aged 18-50 Years
Anna K Jansson1, Tracy L Schumacher, Lucy Kocanda
1Author Affiliations: Centre for Active Living and Learning, School of Education, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia (Drs Jansson and Plotnikoff); Active Living Research Program, Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia (Dr Jansson, Mr Fenwick, and Drs Duncan and Plotnikoff); Department of Rural Health, The University of Newcastle, Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia (Drs Schumacher and Kocanda); School of Health Science, College of Health and Wellbeing, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia (Drs Whatnall and Collins); Food and Nutrition Research Program, Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia (Drs Kocanda, Whatnall, and Collins); School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia (Mr Fenwick and Drs Duncan and Boyle); Cancer Council NSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (Mrs Betts); School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (Dr Bauman); Hunter New England Health, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia (Ms Kerr and Dr Inder); and School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia (Dr Inder).
Objective:
To perform a systematic review of completion rates of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in adults aged 18 to 50 yr and describe how core components were reported, measured, and tailored to those under 50 yr.
Review Methods:
Database search of MEDLINE, Embase, Emcare, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library based on keywords, including articles from January 1, 1990. The last search was performed on April 21, 2023. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses protocol, eligible articles contained adults (aged between 18 and 50 yr) who had participated in a CR program.
Summary:
Out of the articles screened (n = 24,517), 33 reports across 31 independent studies were considered eligible (n = 1958 patients aged ≤50 yr). Cardiac rehabilitation completion rates ranged from 64% to 100%; however, only 5 studies presented a completion rate definition. The length of the program ranged from 7 d to 20 wk, with most (65%) ranging between 6 and 12 wk. While the studies included in this systematic review indicated relatively high rates of completing CR, these are likely to overrepresent the true completion rates as few definitions were provided that could be compared to completion rates used in clinical practice. This systematic review also found that all interventions prescribed exercise (eg, aerobic alone or combined with resistance training or yoga) but had very limited inclusion or description of other integral components of CR (eg, initial assessment and smoking cessation) or how they were assessed and individualized to meet the needs of younger attendees.
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