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Review
. 2023 Jun 28:13:100467.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijcchd.2023.100467. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Exercise, prescription and training in ACHD

Guido Pieles  1   2 , Michael Papadakis  3 , Werner Budts  4
Affiliations
Review

Exercise, prescription and training in ACHD

Guido Pieles et al. Int J Cardiol Congenit Heart Dis. .

Erratum in

Abstract

The number of adult patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) is steadily increasing and exceeds nowadays the number of children with CHD. This is due to significant advances in therapeutic possibilities that became available over the last four decades. As such, this aging population survives the CHD complications and is exposed to the traditional cardiovascular risk factors for atherosclerotic disease such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, long-standing exposure to smoking, overweight and obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle. Consequently, it becomes important to put more emphasis on all these risk factors. A preventive strategy is central, and early encouragement of physical activity is part of this approach. A minimum of physical activity has a beneficial effect both physically and mentally. With this overview, we mainly want to emphasize the importance of preventive measures. We would like to emphasize that all individuals should receive an exercise prescription which adheres to the minimum recommendations by WHO/NICE and this advice should form the baseline. Moreover, we intend to show that physical activity can be done safely in patients with CHD and that recreational and competitive sports are feasible in many circumstances.

Keywords: Cardiovascular risk factors; Congenital heart diseases; Exercise; Lifestyle; Sport.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Lifetime exposure to risk factors in congenital heart disease patients.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Condensed decision algorithm for physical activity and recreational sports in adult congenital heart disease.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Condensed decision algorithm for competitive and athletic sports in adult congenital heart disease.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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