The role of exercise testing in pediatric cardiology

Exercise testing for cardiac disease in children differs in many aspects from the tests performed in adults; their cardiovascular response to exercise presents different characteristics, which are essential for the interpretation of hemodynamic data. Moreover, diseases that are associated with myocardial ischemia are very rare in young patients, and the main indications for exercise testing are evaluation of exercise capacity and identification of exercise-induced arrhythmias. This article describes the specificity of exercise testing in pediatric cardiology, in terms of techniques, indications and interpretation of data.