About
Secondary prevention strategies through the application of exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (ExCR) are recognised by international guidelines as an integral component of contemporary management of various cardiovascular diseases, including coronary heart disease (CHD), heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF). To provide definitive estimates of the effect of ExCR and inform future guidelines on ExCR prescription, GLOBAL-DATA-MATCH aims to bring together individual participant data from randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of ExCR versus usual care.
GLOBAL-DATA-MATCH is an international, world-leading collaboration, led by prof. Rod Taylor (University of Glasgow, UK), dr. Ben Buckley (Liverpool John Moores University, UK) and prof. Dick Thijssen (Radboudumc, the Netherlands). GLOBAL-DATA-MATCH includes a collection of “living” individual participant data meta-analyses, and brings together individual participant data from randomized trials on the effectiveness of ExCR in CHD (CaReMATCH), AF (AFterMATCH) and HF (ExTrMATCH). As of March 2025, 27 trials, including approximately 9,000 participants, have been included in our analyses. GLOBAL-DATA-MATCH is constantly updated with information from "living" Cochrane reviews on ExCR in CHD, AF, and HF, which are co-led by the principal investigators of GLOBAL-DATA-MATCH. Publications of GLOBAL-DATA-MATCH have been published in leading journals, including the European Heart Journal of Heart Failure, BMJ , and JACC. We also collaborate with patient and public involvement groups across the globe (Harteraad, the Netherlands; REACH-HF patient-participation group, Arrythmia Alliance, UK; StopAfib, US).
Participation
We invite principal investigators of randomized controlled trials on ExCR to share their individual participant data and participate in the GLOBAL-DATA-MATCH collaboration. Data security and transparency are key priorities of GLOBAL-DATA-MATCH, and participation follows clear guidelines and ethical standards. If you’re interested in learning more, we welcome you to get in touch.
Grant providers
GLOBAL-DATA-MATCH has been financially supported by the Radboud-Glasgow Collaboration Fund (Radboud university, the Netherlands; University of Glasgow, UK) and the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).
Team
- Drs. Niels, PhD candidate and epidemiologist, Radboud university medical center, the Netherlands
- Dr. Ben Buckley, Senior lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University, UK
- Dr. Grace Dibben, Research Associate, Glasgow University, UK
- Dr. Geert Kleinnibbelink, Cardiologist in training, Radboud university medical center, the Netherlands
- Dr. Laurien Buffart, Associate Professor and epidemiologist, Radboud university medical center, the Netherlands
- Prof. Dr. Rod Taylor, Professor of Population Health Research, Glasgow University, UK
- Prof. Dr. Dick Thijssen, Professor of Cardiovascular Physiology, Radboud university medical center, the Netherlands