SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1622685
This article is part of the Research TopicBiomechanics of Aging: Advances in Exercise and Intervention Strategies for Older Adult WellnessView all 3 articles
Effect of exercise intervention on quality of life and exercise capacity in patients with atrial fibrillation: A systematic review and network metaanalysis
Provisionally accepted
Yaya Xi1
Yinxue Zhang2Leyao Han1Meishan Zhang1Yunyun Liu1Jingying Xiong1Yingqiao Wang1Weiping Li1
Xinman Dou1,3Xinglei Wang1,2*- 1School of Nursing, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
- 2Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
- 3Department of Nursing, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
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Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmia, can significantly increase stroke risk, heart failure, and reduce quality of life. Despite growing evidence on the benefits of 2 exercise for AF patients, data heterogeneity and the lack of comparative studies on different exercise modalities limit the accuracy of clinical recommendations.Objective: To compare the effects of different exercise regimens on AF and determine the most effective type of exercise for the treatment of AF.We systematically searched PubMed/Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science for randomized controlled trials of exercise interventions in patients with AF aged 18 years and older. The Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool (RoB 2) was utilized to assess the risk of bias.We used R software to perform a network meta-analysis. The protocol has been registered withResults: A total of 1477 participants from 16 randomized controlled trials were included in this network meta-analysis. The results indicated that mind-body exercise (MB) was the most effective in improving general health (mean difference (MD) = 12.26, 95% credible intervals (95% Crl): 6.47 to 18.04, surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) = 76.31%) and 6-minute walk test (MD = 104.80, 95% Crl: 44.25 to 165.10, SUCRA = 99.60%). Additionally, aerobic exercise (AE) was the most effective in increasing vitality (MD = 7.73, 95% Crl: 6.40 to 9.07, SUCRA = 88.07%).Conclusions: This network meta-analysis found that MB had superior effects on general health and exercise capacity. AE significantly improved vitality, social functioning, and mental health, with particular benefits in improving vitality.
Keywords: Atrial Fibrillation, Exercise, exercise capacity, Network meta-analysis, Quality of Life
Received: 04 May 2025; Accepted: 06 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xi, Zhang, Han, Zhang, Liu, Xiong, Wang, Li, Dou and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xinglei Wang, School of Nursing, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
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