Mueller 2007

Methods	Parallel group RCT
Participants	N Randomised: 50 (exercise 25; control 25) Diagnosis (% of participants): Aetiology: ischaemic; DCM (% not reported) NYHA: not reported LVEF: < 40% (% not reported) Case mix: 100% as above Age (yr): 55 (SD 10) Male: 100% White: not reported Inclusion/exclusion criteria Inclusion: CHF documented by clinical, angiographic or echocardiographic criteria; and resting EF < 40% Exclusion: not reported
Interventions	Exercise:Total duration: 1 month Aerobic/resistance/mix: aerobic Frequency: 5 sessions/wk Duration: 30 min/session cycling, 90 min walking each day Intensity: Borg 12‐14 (60‐80% max HR) Modality: cycling and walking Setting: indoor cycling sessions were supervised directly by a medical resident and outdoor walking sessions were supervised by exercise physiologists Other: resided at the rehabilitation centre for 1 month. Programme component also included education and low‐fat meals prepared daily by the centre's cook
Outcomes	Morbidity and mortality
Comparison	Usual medical care
Country and setting	Switzerland Single centre
Follow‐up	6.2 yr (after randomisation)
Notes
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Not reported
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Not reported
Blinding (performance bias and detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	Not reported
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Low risk	Outcomes described in the methods are reported in the results
Intention‐to‐treat analysis?	Low risk	ITT not stated explicitly. However, groups appear to analysed according to original allocation
Incomplete outcome data?	Low risk	"Data from one patient in the control group was not available at the two‐month evaluation due to refusal to complete testing." "Among subjects in the exercise group, 9 died, and one refused repeat testing. Among patients in the control group, 12 died and two refused repeat testing. Therefore, 14 and 13 patients performed six‐year evaluations in the exercise and control groups, respectively." QUORUM diagram reported and detailed text. No imputation undertaken
Groups balanced at baseline?	Low risk	"No differences were observed between the exercise and control groups initially in clinical or demographic data, including age, height, weight, pulmonary function or medication status"
Groups received same intervention?	Unclear risk	"Patients in the exercise group resided at the rehabilitation centre for one month. Control subjects received usual clinical care, including verbal encouragement to remain physically active"