Effect of Virtual Reality-based Cardiac Rehabilitation on Mental Health and Cardiopulmonary Function of Individuals With Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Objective: To investigate the effect of virtual reality (VR)-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on the mental health and cardiorespiratory function of patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Data Sources: The search strategy was conducted in 5 databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases) from inception to July 2024.

Study Selection: Randomized controlled trials comparing the effectiveness of standard CR and VR-based CR for patients with CVD were independently selected by multiple reviewers.

Data Extraction: Data were extracted independently by 2 authors. In case of disagreement, a third author was consulted for resolution.

Data Synthesis: Thirteen studies involving 955 patients with CVD were included in the meta-analysis. The results showed that VR-based CR reduced anxiety levels (standard mean difference [SMD]=-0.28, 95% [confidence interval] CI [-0.51 to -0.05], P=.020]) and depression symptoms (SMD=-0.28, 95% CI [-0.53 to -0.02], P=.030]) in patients with CVD compared with standard CR. However, no significant difference was observed in peak oxygen consumption (SMD=0.01, 95% CI [-0.14 to 0.16], P=.920]) between standard CR and VR-based CR.

Conclusions: VR-based CR significantly improved anxiety and depression symptoms in patients with CVD compared with standard CR. However, there was no significant difference between standard CR and VR-based CR in improving cardiorespiratory function in patients with CVD.