ADHERENCE TO CARDIOVASCULAR REHABILITATION WITH THE USE OF EXERGAMING: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Introduction: Studies show that there is a low adherence to cardiovascular rehabilitation (CVR) implying limitations as to expected benefits. It is important to investigate whether the diversification of interventions already applied in CVR, such as the adoption of exergaming, can provide greater adherence to this treatment. Objective: To review studies that investigated the intragroup adherence to CVR of patients using exergaming and comparing, intergroup, with patients undergoing conventional CVR. Methods: This was a systematic review that included original intervention studies indexed in databases and published up to April 2021, without language restrictions. The search was performed in PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, and PEDro, in April 2021. Results: A total of 8 studies were included. In 3 of them, the average adherence to CVR sessions with exergaming was 77%. In another study, about 60% of the participants were more than 80% adherent to the recommended playing time. In the fifth study, the average time of exergaming use was 28 ± 13 minutes/day, which is higher than the recommended 20 minutes/day. In the sixth study, the median of individual attendance was 96%. In the seventh, there was 100% adherence to the CVR sessions. And in the eighth study, there was a significant increase in adherence at 12 weeks of CVR with exergaming (72.87% vs. 82.80%) and a reduction when exergaming was discontinued (82.80% to 65.48%, p < 0.05). Conclusion: The best available evidence demonstrates a positive effect of exergaming on CVR patient adherence.