Evidence mapPaperPMID 41770342Full record

ArticleClinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society2026

Cardiac rehabilitation in patients with reduced left ventricular function in Germany: insights from the multicentre MEDIAN Heart Failure Registry.

E Kutali, P Schüller, C Altmann, M Brezger, S Eddicks, MEDIAN Medical Board Cardiology

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Article in Clinical research in cardiology : official journal of the German Cardiac Society, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

E KutaliDepartment for Cardiology, MEDIAN Rehabilitation-Centre Bernkastel-Kues, 54470, Bernkastel-Kues, Germany. eldakutali@yahoo.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-4699-9210
P SchüllerDepartment for Cardiology, MEDIAN Klinik Flechtingen, 39345, Flechtingen, Germany.
C AltmannDepartment for Cardiology, MEDIAN Rehabilitation-Centre Bad Gottleuba, 01816, Bad Gottleuba‑Berggießhübel, Germany.
M BrezgerDepartment for Cardiology, MEDIAN Buchberg-Klinik Bad Tölz, 83646, Bad Tölz, Germany.
S EddicksDepartment for Cardiology, MEDIAN Rehabilitation-Centre Bernkastel-Kues, 54470, Bernkastel-Kues, Germany.
MEDIAN Medical Board Cardiology

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHeart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) causes reduced functional capacity, impaired quality of life, and frequent rehospitalisation. Although guidelines recommend cardiac rehabilitation (CardRehab), referral rates remain low. The MEDIAN Heart Failure Registry evaluated short- and midterm outcomes of inpatient CardRehab in routine practice.

methodsA prospective multicentre registry included 808 patients with clinically stable HFrEF (LVEF ≤ 40%) undergoing inpatient cardiac rehabilitation across 17 German centres (2019-2020). Clinical outcomes-6-min walk test, bicycle ergometry, echocardiographic LVEF, NYHA class, NT-proBNP (subset), and patient-reported outcomes (KCCQ, HADS)-were assessed at admission, discharge, and 6 months post-discharge. A structured follow-up survey evaluated adherence to lifestyle changes and the sustainability of effects after the 22.8-day inpatient stay.

resultsA total of 808 patients (mean age, 65 years; 16.6% females) showed significant improvements in physical and psychosocial parameters. Mean LVEF increased from 31.1% (SD 9.0) to 35.9% (SD 10.7; p < 0.01), mean 6-min walk distance from 306 m (SD 136) to 388 m (SD 158; p < 0.01), and mean bicycle ergometry from 27.8 W (SD 15.4) to 49.5 W (SD 26.4; p < 0.01). Mean NT-proBNP decreased (p < 0.01). KCCQ and HADS scores improved significantly. Inpatient mortality rate during rehabilitation was 0.6% (5/808), and the rehospitalisation rate due to heart failure was 2.8% (23/808). There were two documented cancellations of rehabilitation. At 6-month follow-up, benefits remained stable with high adherence to recommended behaviours.

conclusionsCardiac rehabilitation was associated with improvements in physical capacity, left ventricular function, psychological well-being, and quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure, alongside low observed rehospitalisation rates during follow-up.

Indexed as

Cardiac rehabilitationExercise toleranceHeart failureQuality of lifeRehospitalisation

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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 Socratic graph.