title: Sports participation in adults with congenital heart disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  It is unclear whether sports participation in adults with repaired congenital heart disease is safe and has benefits.
  
  
  METHODS
  Congenital heart disease (ConHD) patients who underwent corrective surgery for Atrial Septal Defect, Ventricular Septal Defect, Pulmonary Stenosis, Tetralogy of Fallot or Transposition of the Great Arteries in our center between 1968 and 1980 were included, and participated in our longitudinal follow-up study with serial evaluations in 2001 and 2011. At both time points patients filled in questionnaires on sports participation, subjective physical functioning and quality of life. Exercise testing, echocardiogram and 24-hour continuous ambulatory ECG-monitoring were performed in both 2001 and 2011. All clinical events (re-intervention, arrhythmia, heart failure) were prospectively recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No relationship was found between practicing sports and the occurrence of sudden death, PVCs or SVTs. Patients with moderate/complex forms of ConHD practiced fewer hours of sports compared with the general Dutch normative population. Patients with both simple and moderate/complex ConHD who practiced sports showed a higher exercise capacity. More favorable subjective physical functioning was found for moderate/complex patients who practiced sports.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adults with repaired ConHD are less often involved in sports than the Dutch general population. The patients that were engaged in sports show a higher exercise capacity than those who did not. Sports participation in patients with ConHD was not associated with an increased incidence of adverse cardiac events.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Opić
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Elisabeth M W J
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Utens
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Judith A A E
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Cuypers
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Maarten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Witsenburg
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Annemien
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van den Bosch
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: van Domburg
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ad J J C
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Bogers
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Boersma
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sports Medicine and Science, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pelliccia
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: j.roos@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Jolien W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Roos-Hesselink
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013177:Sports / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Arrhythmia; Congenital heart disease; Quality of life; Safety; Sport