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This article discusses the risk of ventricular tachycardias (VT) in patients who have undergone repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) surgery. The study included 39 patients who underwent electrophysiological study for VT risk stratification. The researchers found that slow conducting anatomic isthmuses (SCAI) were present in the majority of patients, with the most common SCAI being isthmus 3 and isthmus 4. Ablation procedures were successful in 87% of patients, with only one patient experiencing recurrence of VT/VF. The study suggests that implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation may be necessary in some cases. [Extracted from the article]

Heart failure is a common phenomenon in congenital heart disease patients. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing is used for a reliable assessment of heart failure but is still challenging, especially for young children. Implementing mobile cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) can close that diagnostic gap. While average values for healthy children have already been published, this study aims to describe typical ranges of cardiovascular performance parameters of young children with congenital heart disease performing an 8-min running cardiopulmonary exercise test. Children aged 4–8 years with common congenital heart defects after corrective surgery (Tetralogy of Fallot; transposition of the great arteries and univentricular hearts after palliation) were included. The outdoor running protocol consisted of slow walking, slow jogging, fast jogging, and maximum speed running. Each exercise was performed for 2 min, except the last, in which children were instructed to keep up maximal speed as long as possible. A total of 78 children (45 male/33 female, mean age 6,24) with congenital heart disease participated in the study, of which 97% completed the CPET successfully. A detailed description of participating patients, including data on cardiac function and subjective fitness levels, is given to help physicians use this method to classify their patients. This study presents a typical range for cardiovascular performance parameters in a population of 4–8-year-old children with congenital heart disease tested in a newly developed outdoor running protocol for CPET. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]