Exercise Capacity in Children and Adolescents with Corrected Congenital Heart Disease

• Published in: Pediatric cardiology 2015-06, Vol.36 (5), p.1075-1082
• Main Authors: Feltez, Gabriela, Coronel, Christian Corrêa, Pellanda, Lúcia Campos, Lukrafka, Janice Luisa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Cardiac Surgery; Cardiology; Child; Children's furniture; Congenital heart disease; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cyanosis - blood; Cyanosis - physiopathology; Echocardiography; Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; Exercise; Exercise Tolerance; Female; Genetic disorders; Heart Defects, Congenital - blood; Heart Defects, Congenital - diagnostic imaging; Heart Defects, Congenital - physiopathology; Heart diseases; Humans; Male; Medical research; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Medicine, Experimental; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain - blood; Natriuretic peptides; Original Article; Respiratory Muscles - physiology; Stroke Volume; Vascular Surgery
• ISSN: 0172-0643; 1432-1971
• DOI: 10.1007/s00246-015-1129-1

Congenital heart disease promotes hemodynamic changes that can contribute to reduce exercise capacity. The aim of the study was to evaluate the exercise capacity of children and adolescents with cyanotic congenital heart disease and to assess respiratory muscle strength, plasma levels of B-type natriuretic peptide and ventricular ejection fraction, as well the associations between these variables. Cross-sectional study that evaluated 48 patients between 6 and 18 years-old that underwent a six-minute walk test (6MWT), respiratory muscle strength, dosage of B-type natriuretic peptide and echocardiography. The mean age was 13.3 ± 4.1 years, and the most prevalent heart disease was tetralogy of Fallot (54.2 %). The average distance walked was 452.7 ± 73.2 m, significantly below the predicted (69 %) ( p