Exercise Capacity in Children and Adolescents With Congenital Heart Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) entails structural defects in the morphogenesis of the heart or its main vessels. Analyzing exercise capacity of children and adolescents with CHD is important to improve their functional condition and quality of life, since it can allow timely intervention on poor prognostic factors associated with higher risk of morbidity and mortality.

Objective: To describe exercise capacity in children and adolescents with CHD compared with healthy controls.