Chronic heart failure (CHF) is among the top causes of cardiovascular morbidity, and most patients with CHF have poor health status. Tai Chi, a mind-body exercise that originated in China, is beneficial for health status. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of Tai Chi on health status in adults with CHF.
The Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Database, and Chinese Scientific Journal Database were searched from the inception to 22 October 2021. This meta-analysis was performed using the fixed- or random-effects model. Continuous outcomes were carried out using mean difference (MD) or standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Dichotomous outcomes were determined using risk ratio (RR) with 95%CI. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE)pro Guideline Development Tool (GDT) online software was used to present outcome-specific information regarding overall certainty of evidence from studies.
In total, 15 studies including 1,236 participants were finally included. Compared with usual care alone, Tai Chi combined with usual care achieved efficacy in improving Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MD = −8.51; 95% CI: −10.32 to −6.70;
Tai Chi might be safe and showed beneficial effects on health status in patients with CHF. However, more high-quality and long-term studies are still needed to further evaluate the effects of Tai Chi.