ArticleEClinicalMedicine2019
Cardiac Rehabilitation Availability and Density around the Globe.
Article in EClinicalMedicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 127 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
127 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Strategies to improve adherence to exercise-based phase II cardiac rehabilitation after percutaneous coronary intervention: a best evidence summary.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Pooled it
- The Prevalence of Activities of Daily Living Impairment in Patients With Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2022Pooled it
- A systematic review of provider-and system-level factors influencing the delivery of cardiac rehabilitation for heart failure.BMC health services research · 2021Pooled it
- Nature, availability, and utilization of women-focused cardiac rehabilitation: a systematic review.BMC cardiovascular disorders · 2021Pooled it
- Position Statement of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology Department of Exercise Testing, Sports Exercise, Nuclear Cardiology, and Cardiovascular Rehabilitation (DERC/SBC) on Activities Within its Scope of Practice During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Arquivos brasileiros de cardiologia · 2020Guideline
- Effects of cardiac rehabilitation in low-and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.Progress in cardiovascular diseasesPooled it
- Trial
- Optimizing Digital Cardiac Rehabilitation Using the Multiphase Optimization Strategy: Mixed Methods Feasibility Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Trial
- Personalized Smartphone Messaging for Secondary Prevention After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Trial
- Can Online Exercise Using Wearable Devices Improve Perceived Well-Being? A Study Among Patients with Coronary Artery Disease.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Trial
- Randomized trial of early exercise rehabilitation and its effects on patients with acute coronary syndrome.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Hybrid Cardiac Rehabilitation Program in a Low-Resource Setting: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- Successful Implementation and Development of a Phase II Cardiac Rehabilitation Program: A China-Wide Cross-Sectional Study Tracking In-service Training Clinical Staff.Frontiers in public health · 2021Trial
- Cardiac rehabilitation coverage and program characteristics in Latin America and the Caribbean: Comparisons from the ICCPR's 2025 Global Audit Update.Brazilian journal of physical therapy · 2026Article
- World Heart Federation Roadmap on cardiac rehabilitation: a pathway to lifelong cardiovascular health.Nature reviews. Cardiology · 2026Review
- Article
- Cardiac Rehabilitation Program-Related Factors Associated With Morbidity Among Patients in Low-Resource Settings: Analysis From the International Cardiac Rehabilitation Registry.Journal of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and prevention · 2026Observational
- Cardiac Rehabilitation in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region: A Scoping Review with a Saudi Arabia-Focused Synthesis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Coronary artery bypass grafting patients' preferences and willingness to pay for remote cardiac rehabilitation: discrete choice experiment study.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Comparisons of core component delivery in cardiac rehabilitation programs by country income classification and decade based on the 2025 Global Audit Update: A survey study.PLoS medicine · 2026Article
67 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
59 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite the epidemic of cardiovascular disease and the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation (CR), availability is known to be insufficient, although this is not quantified. This study ascertained CR availability, volumes and its drivers, and density.
methodsA survey was administered to CR programs globally. Cardiac associations and local champions facilitated program identification. Factors associated with volumes were assessed using generalized linear mixed models, and compared by World Health Organization region. Density (i.e. annual ischemic heart disease [IHD] incidence estimate from Global Burden of Disease study divided by national CR capacity) was computed.
findingsCR was available in 111/203 (54.7%) countries; data were collected in 93 (83.8% country response; N = 1082 surveys, 32.1% program response rate). Availability by region ranged from 80.7% of countries in Europe, to 17.0% in Africa (p < .001). There were 5753 programs globally that could serve 1,655,083 patients/year, despite an estimated 20,279,651 incident IHD cases globally/year. Volume was significantly greater where patients were systematically referred (odds ratio [OR] = 1.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.35-1.38) and programs offered alternative models (OR = 1.05, 95%CI = 1.04-1.06), and significantly lower with private (OR = .92, 95%CI = .91-.93) or public (OR = .83, 95%CI = .82-84) funding compared to hybrid sources.Median capacity (i.e., number of patients a program
interpretationCR is available in only half of countries globally. Where offered, capacity is grossly insufficient, such that most patients will not derive the benefits associated with participation.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.