Heart failure & cardiomyopathiesMeta-analysis
Sex differences in exercise training response among heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients: pooled analysis of OptimEx-Clin and Ex-DHF-trials
- Pooled analysis of the OptimEx-Clin and Ex-DHF randomised trials
- subgroup analysis by sex
- linear mixed models
Authors' conclusion
Exercise training improved percent-predicted peakV̇O2 in women but not in men with HFpEF, a sex difference that was largely driven by differing responses following usual care.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with chronic HFpEF62% women
- Participants
- 498 patients
- Comparison
- Exercise training vs usual care, in women and in men
- Exercise trainingn = 277
- Outcome
- Sex differences in change of peakV̇O2 (absolute, relative, percent-predicted) with exercise training vs usual care
- Follow-up
- Three, six, and 12 months
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Percent-predicted peakV̇O2, mean within-group change, by sex · 12 months
Exercise training (women)
4.7
mean change · 95% CI 2.2–7.2% · %
Exercise training (men)
3.0
mean change · 95% CI −0.3–6.4% · %
Usual care (women)
−3.7
mean change · 95% CI −6.5–-0.8% · %
Usual care (men)
1.4
mean change · 95% CI −2.0–4.7% · %
- Exercise training increased absolute, relative and percent-predicted peakV̇O2 vs usual care in women
- all P < 0.001
- No significant increase vs usual care in men
- all P > 0.05
- Sex difference in training response for percent-predicted peakV̇O2
- sex*group*time-interaction P = 0.037
Original publication
Sex differences in exercise training response among HFpEF patients: pooled analysis of OptimEx-Clin and Ex-DHF-trials. Eur J Heart Fail. Published 29 July 2026. doi:10.1093/ejhf/xuag240
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it