Heart failure & cardiomyopathiesMeta-analysis
Exercise-induced biomolecular changes and cardiovascular effects in heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised and non-randomised controlled trials
Authors' conclusion
Exercise training modulates circulating exerquines levels. Notably, it reduces pro-inflammatory responses in HF, linking molecular adaptations to improved functional gain.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with heart failure (HF)
- Participants
- 1,278 patients · 29 studies
- Comparison
- Exercise training vs control
- Outcome
- Circulating exerkines (e.g., IL-6, TNF-α, lactate, IGF-1, adiponectin)
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Circulating IL-6 and TNF-α
g
- IL-6
- −0.27 (95% CI −0.52 to −0.01)
- TNF-α
- −0.26 (95% CI −0.40 to −0.12)
Further pooled results
Exerkines overall (exploratory multivariate meta-analysis)
- Global decrease in exerkines after the intervention (g)
- −0.38 (95% CI: −0.55 to −0.21)
- exploratory multivariate meta-analysis
Association of exerkine decline with functional gain (meta-regression)
- Greater exerkine declines associated with larger increases in peak oxygen consumption (β)
- −0.16 (95% CI −0.28 to −0.04)
- Greater exerkine declines associated with larger increases in LVEF (β)
- −0.12 (95% CI −0.17, −0.07)
Exerkines by HF phenotype (subgroup)
- HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF): clear, robust reduction (g)
- −0.37 (95% CI −0.56 to −0.19)
- HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and mixed HFrEF/HFpEF: no reduction
Original publication
Exercise-induced biomolecular changes and cardiovascular effects in heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Prev Cardiol. Published 13 October 2025. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwaf656
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it