Exercise recommendations for adolescents after surgery for congenital heart disease

Due to recent improvements in medical and surgical therapy, many children with congenital heart disease are now surviving to adolescence and beyond. The pediatrician is thus presented with a new challenge: caring for the adolescent and young adult with surgically corrected congenital heart disease. The purpose of this paper is to provide recommendations regarding exercise and sports participation for adolescents after surgical repair of congenital heart disease. Four major defects are discussed in detail: aortic stenosis, coarctation of the aorta, tetralogy of Fallot and transposition of the great arteries. Exercise restrictions must be based on a thorough knowledge of each patient's postoperative hemodynamic and electrophysiologic abnormalities, and his or her response to exercise. It is emphasized that, with reasonable limits, adolescents with surgically repaired congenital heart disease should be allowed to pursue a normal, active life-style.