Pulmonary vascular disease & thromboembolismMeta-analysis
Structured exercise training and rehabilitation in patients with acute venous thromboembolism: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials
- Systematic review of randomised controlled trials
Authors' conclusion
Early initiation of structured ET and rehabilitation programmes after VTE appears to be safe. Robust evidence on efficacy of ET and rehabilitation programmes in terms of functional and quality-of-life benefits is limited
Study context
- Population
- Patients with acute venous thromboembolism (VTE) (deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and/or pulmonary embolism (PE))
- Participants
- 250 patients · 4 randomized controlled trials (RCTs)
- Comparison
- Structured exercise training vs control
- Outcome
- Safety and efficacy of early structured ET in rehabilitation of acute VTE
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
- Improvements in exercise capacity, cardiopulmonary function or quality of life within exercise training (ET) groups in 3 studies
- Differences between ET and control groups nonsignificant, limited by small sample sizes and risk of bias
Safety
Safety of ET initiated within 3 months after VTE
- No trial reported safety concerns
Original publication
Structured exercise training and rehabilitation in patients with acute venous thromboembolism: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Eur J Prev Cardiol. Published 6 March 2026. doi:10.1093/eurjpc/zwag096
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it