Mapping Visualization Analysis of 2000-2023 Research Data on Cardiac Rehabilitation after Myocardial Infarction Using VOSviewer and CiteSpace

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a comprehensive intervention aimed at improving recovery, reducing mortality, and enhancing the quality of life in myocardial infarction patients. Despite its proven benefits, its global implementation remains inconsistent, warranting further exploration of research trends and challenges. This study explores hot topics and frontiers in research on cardiac rehabilitation after myocardial infarction over the past 23 years. We aim to map the development trajectory of this field and provide references for related research. Literature on cardiac rehabilitation of myocardial infarction patients from 2000 to 2023 was gathered from the Web of Science core database. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to create knowledge maps of authors, institutions, and countries. We used Scimago Graphica to create a world map of publications by country. A total of 9,471 papers on cardiac rehabilitation after myocardial infarction were identified. We found a gradual increase in the annual number of publications over the years. The United States produced the highest number of publications, with significant contributions from higher education institutions, which engaged in extensive collaborations. Recent research hotspots and frontiers include physical activity, secondary prevention, risk management, quality of life, mortality, depression, management, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), systematic reviews, resistance exercise, position papers, and barriers to rehabilitation. Over the past 23 years, the annual global publication output on cardiac rehabilitation of myocardial infarction patients has steadily increased. However, the implementation of cardiac rehabilitation continues to face challenges worldwide. Experts from around the world need to make concerted efforts to conduct more in-depth clinical studies of the research hotspots and frontiers identified in this paper. This is vital to ongoing improvements in the quality of cardiac rehabilitation after myocardial infarction.