Physical Activity Prescription in Children and Young Adults with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD)

Children and young adults with CHD often demonstrate a significant decline in their functional capacity. This decline is usually caused by a reduction or even abstention from physical activity, and not necessarily by their underlying disease. These patients often become sedentary due to some physical limitations but mostly due to their parents’ and their own concern to their safety and health. A sedentary lifestyle can increase the risk for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases as they grow older.

Exercise training programs for patients with CHD may help them in maintaining a healthy lifestyle (physically and psychologically), and decreasing their risks for adulthood morbidity. However, since these patients often have complicated and complexed medical conditions, it is extremely important to individualize their exercise program. The exercise prescription takes into consideration not only their medical and risk status, but also the motor skills, social interactions, self-confidence, and personal goals that are characterized by their age-related peers.

In this review we will briefly learn about the types of CHD; the effect of CHD on functional capacity; the required physical and medical assessments prior to exercise initiation; and the guidelines for exercise prescription. We will close this review with a short presentation of our future special program for patients with CHD at our cardiac rehabilitation center at Hadassah Har-Hazofim.