Exercise capacity and the quality of life late after surgical correction of congenital heart defects.

BACKGROUND The long-term impact of surgical correction of congenital heart defects (CHD) on exercise capacity and quality of life (QoL) has not been well established. AIM To evaluate exercise capacity, QoL, physical activity and depression in young adult patients with a history of congenital heart defect surgery (GUCH) for simple left-to-right shunts, and to compare these parameters with those obtained in healthy volunteers. METHODS The study group consisted of 30 young adults with congenital heart defects (14 males, 16 females), aged 18-36 (mean 24.6) years who underwent corrective cardiac surgery at least 10 years earlier. The control group comprised 30 healthy students (15 males, 15 females), aged 21-28 (mean 24.4) years. We performed cardiopulmonary exercise testing on bicycle ergometer, QoL and physical activity tests, and depression inventory. RESULTS In young adult GUCH patients the exercise parameters were lower when compared to healthy peers. The Stanford questionnaire showed that physical activity was diminished as well as QoL in EuroQoL5 test. The Beck inventory showed more expressed depression in GUCH group. CONCLUSIONS The exercise capacity, physical activity and QoL of young adults with a history of surgical treatment of CHD are worse than observed in healthy peers, and the health status does not fulfil the definition of complete recovery.