Exercise-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Associates with Lower Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in People with Stroke

Background: The risk of major adverse cardiovascular events is substantially increased following a stroke. Although exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation has been shown to improve prognosis following cardiac events, it is not part of routine care for people following a stroke. We therefore investigated the association between cardiac rehabilitation and major adverse cardiovascular events for people with stroke. 

Methods: This retrospective analysis was conducted on June 20, 2021, using anonymized data within TriNetX, a global federated health research network with access to electronic medical records from participating healthcare organizations, predominantly in the USA. All participants were aged ≥18 years with cerebrovascular disease and at least 2 years of follow-up. People with stroke and an electronic medical record of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation were 1:1 propensity score matched to people with stroke but without cardiac rehabilitation using participant characteristics, comorbidities, cardiovascular procedures, and cardiovascular medications. 

Results: Of 836,923 people with stroke and 2-year follow-up, 2,909 met the inclusion for the exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation cohort. Following propensity score matching (n = 5,818), exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation associated with 53% lower odds of all-cause mortality (odds ratio 0.47, 95% confidence interval: 0.40-0.56), 12% lower odds of recurrent stroke (0.88, 0.79-0.98), and 36% lower odds of rehospitalization (0.64, 0.58-0.71), compared to controls. No significant association between cardiac rehabilitation and incident atrial fibrillation was observed. 

Conclusion: Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation prescribed for people following a stroke associated with significantly lower odds of major adverse cardiovascular events at 2 years, compared to usual care.