Despite improvement in survival, patients with a Fontan circulation are at risk for
numerous complications, and exercise capacity and quality of life are usually reduced
compared with healthy controls. However, only a few studies have assessed the impact
of the amount of sporting activity on exercise capacity and health-related quality
of life. We analyzed cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPET) in a large cohort of patients
with a Fontan circulation. Questionnaires were used to assess health-related quality
of life and sporting activity. A total of 79 patients with a median age of 13.0 (6.5
to 34.4) years at CPET were included (female, n = 31). Questionnaires revealed that
80% of patients (n = 63) do leisure sports with 43% (n = 27) exercising more than
2 hours per /week. In a subgroup analysis on pediatric patients (n = 52) we found
that nearly all participate in school sports (n = 51) and report good subjective health
(n = 48). In the pediatric subgroup, oxygen uptake at the anaerobic threshold and
peak oxygen uptake correlated with subjective health (p <0.05) and the amount of leisure
sports activity (p <0.01). In the overall cohort, running time and running distance
were significantly associated with the hours of sports per week (p <0.01). CPET results
did not significantly differ between single right and single left ventricle patients.
Furthermore, an open fenestration was not associated with reduced exercise capacity.
In conclusion, most patients with a Fontan circulation participate in leisure sports
and report good subjective healthiness. In pediatric patients, increased sports activity
is associated with better exercise capacity and subjective healthiness.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: March 09, 2022
Received in revised form:
January 18,
2022
Received:
December 16,
2021
Footnotes
Previous presentations: part of the work was presented in the young investigator session during at the ESC Preventive Cardiology Conference 2021
Identification
Copyright
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