The effect of heart rate variability biofeedback in patients with acute coronary syndrome: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS), the acute manifestation of ischemic heart disease, remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Soon after ACS, autonomic imbalance acts to preserve the proper functioning of the cardiovascular system and consequently of the whole body. In this study, we perform a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of heart rate variability biofeedback in improving the prognosis in patients with ACS. METHODS: The protocol of this review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022379184). Meanwhile, it will be reported follow the guidelines of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses protocol. We will search 3 foreign electronic databases (Cochrane Library, Embase, Pubmed) and 4 Chinese electronic databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WangFang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database and Chinese Scientific Journal Database) to collect potential studies from their inceptions to December 2022. Risk of bias will be assessed according to the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Data synthesis and statistical analysis will be performed using the RevMan 5.3 (The Nordic Cochrane Centre, The Cochrane Collaboration, Denmark) software. RESULTS: The results of this systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. CONCLUSION: This systematic review will provide high quality evidence to assess the efficacy of heart rate variability biofeedback in patients with ACS.