Abstract

Background: Heart Failure (HF) is a high-prevalence heterogeneous syndrome with various clinical symptoms. International clinical guidelines recommend that patients with chronic HF participate in multidisciplinary tailored cardiac rehabilitation programs. This protocol aims to describe the methods for a systematic review of the literature on the effects of the combination of High Inspiratory Muscle Training (H-IMT) and aerobic exercise in patients with HF with preserved and non-preserved ejection fraction.
Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines will be used to conduct and report this review. Five databases will be searched from inception until 31 December 2024: Medline (via EBSCOhost), PEDro, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Two reviewers will independently evaluate articles (titles and abstracts). Methodological quality will be assessed using the revised Cochrane Risk of Bias tool for randomized trials (RoB2). The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach will be used to assess the overall quality of the evidence.
Conclusion: Evaluation of the quality of evidence apropos the effects of the combination of H-IMT and aerobic exercise is essential for improving our knowledge in this field and providing better services for patients with HF independently of the disease severity.
Trial registration: PROSPERO registration number is CRD42024568200.

Keywords:Aerobic training; Breathing exercises; Ejection fraction; Exercise; Heart failure; Inspiratory muscle training