Does moderate exercise prevent MI for patients with coronary heart disease?

Abstract

Moderate exercise reduces mortality for patients with known coronary heart disease but does not significantly decrease the risk of recurrent nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI) (strength of recommendation [SOR]: A, based on systematic review of randomized controlled trials). Exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation also reduces all-cause mortality (SOR: A, based on systematic review). For patients with stable angina, a daily exercise program is more effective than percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) with stenting in preventing major cardiovascular events (number needed to treat [NNT]=5.5; SOR: A, based on a single randomized controlled trial).