Cardiac Rehabilitation Improves Cardiometabolic Health in Young Patients with Nonischemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

Nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy is deadly and costly, and treatment options are limited. Cardiac rehabilitation has proved safe and beneficial for adults with various types of heart failure. Therefore, we retrospectively evaluated the hypothesis that rehabilitation is safe and improves cardiometabolic health in young patients with nonischemic dilated cardiomypathy.

A Novel Mechanism for Improved Exercise Performance in Pediatric Fontan Patients After Cardiac Rehabilitation.

Patients with a Fontan circulation have impaired exercise capacity. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has shown promise in enhancing peak exercise parameters in this population, but an improvement in submaximal exercise has not been consistently demonstrated. We assessed the hypothesis that participation in CR will be associated with more efficient oxygen extraction and ventilation during submaximal exercise.

Cardiopulmonary Aerobic Fitness Assessment During Maximal and Submaximal Exercise Testing in Pediatric Oncology Patients After Chemotherapy.

Purpose: The cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) is a valuable tool to assess cardiopulmonary exercise capacity in pediatric oncology patients after chemotherapy. In addition, few studies on the utility of submaximal testing have been performed, which could be important as some patients are unable to complete a maximal effort test secondary to deconditioning by both disease and treatment.

Materials And Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of pediatric cancer patients exposed to chemotherapy from 1992 to 2013 who underwent CPET with cycle ergometry (n=27).

Exercise capacity improves after transcatheter closure of the Fontan fenestration in children.

Objectives: This study evaluated the aerobic capacity, exercise capacity, and arterial oxygen saturation (O(2)Sat) in children before and after transcatheter Fontan fenestration closure.

Design: Observational study comparing exercise parameters and hemodynamics before and after transcatheter fenestration closure in Fontan patients.

Outcome Measures: Working capacity, exercise duration, oxygen consumption (VO(2)), and arterial O(2)Sat were evaluated during aerobic exercise.

Decreased maximal aerobic capacity in pediatric chronic kidney disease.

Adult and pediatric patients with ESRD have impaired maximum oxygen consumption (VO(2) max), a reflection of the cardiopulmonary system's ability to meet increased metabolic demands. We sought to determine factors associated with decreased VO(2) max in pediatric patients with different stages of CKD. VO(2) max was measured using a standardized exercise testing protocol in patients with stage 2 to 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD) (n = 46), in renal transplant recipients (n = 22), in patients treated with maintenance hemodialysis (n = 12), and in age-matched healthy controls (n = 33).

Exercise evaluation of upper- versus lower-extremity blood pressure gradients in pediatric and young-adult participants.

The aim of this study was to provide a normal reference for arm-leg blood pressure gradients in normal pediatric and young-adult patients before and after exercise. We assessed 216 normal participants by physical or echocardiographic exam, maximally tested using the James Cycle Protocol, with arm and leg blood pressures taken pre- and postexercise. Arm-leg gradients significantly increased from -5 mmHg at rest to 4, 2, and 1 mmHg 1, 3, and 4 min postexercise (p < .