title: Daily physical activity and perception of condition severity among male and female adolescents with congenital heart malformation.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine among young patients with congenital heart malformation (CHM) the concordance between a cardiologist's definition of the severity of malformation and recommendations regarding physical activity and the patients' perceptions of their condition. Subjects included male (n = 55) and female (n = 45) adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years who have trivial (38%), mild (21%), or moderate (41%) CHM. Thirty-one percent of the patients rated their CHM as less severe whereas 15% rated their CHM as more severe than the cardiologist's definition. Although most patients engaged in physical activity appropriate for their condition, a noteworthy percentage engaged in activities more intense than those recommended by the patient's personal cardiologist.
authors.affiliation: Ribstein Center for Sport Medicine Sciences and Research, Wingate Institute, Netanya, Israel. bfalk@post.tau.ac.il
authors.forename: Bareket
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Falk
authors.forename: Galit
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bar-Mor
authors.forename: Levana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zigel
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yaaron
authors.forename: Yael
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Beniamini
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zeevi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index