Physical fitness in children with hemophilia

Eleven boys, 8.3 to 15.5 (mean 11.6) years old, with hemophilia, were studied by bicycle ergometry to determine their physical fitness. Parameters analyzed and compared to data for normal children included total work, mean power minutes of exercise, heart rate (HR), and blood pressure (BP), as well as catecholamine levels. The hemophilic child performs significantly less total work (67%), mean power (49%), minutes of exercise, (30%), and HR (8%). There were no differences in BP. Norepinephrine rose from a resting level of 204.5 to 652pg /ml after exercise, and epinephrine rose from 20.5 to 76.6pg/ml, levels comparable to those achieved by normal children during exercise. Children with hemophilia demonstrate poor exercise performance, which we believe is due to a lack of physical conditioning. Recommendations are made for individual exercise prescriptions to improve the fitness of these children.