The objective of this study was to determine the impact of early mobilisation (EM) on total mortality and non-fatal re-infarction after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Out of 385 potentially relevant studies, 14 met the eligibility criteria (13 published before 1983). There were 149 deaths (9.3% of 1607) and 82 non-fatal re-infarctions (5.2% of 1580) among post-AMI patients receiving EM, compared with 179 deaths (11.6% of 1541) and 80 non-fatal re-infarctions (5.3% of 1518) among AMI patients receiving control treatment (RR=0.85, 95% CI 0.68, 1.05 and RR=1.02, 95% CI 0.75, 1.39 respectively).
This meta-analysis demonstrated a trend towards decreased mortality with EM after AMI. However, there is uncertainty about early mobilisation and more research should be developed having into account all kind of differences among patients receiving treatment after AMI worldwide.